Thai jewellery sector hammered as virus saps global demand
The Covid-19 crisis has taken a severe toll on Thailand’s jewellery business, including the silver industry.
In the first two months of 2020, the value of Thai jewellery exports fell 22 percent on the same period last year, to Bt33.825 billion.
Thailand is among the top 10 jewellery exporters in the world and renowned for its silver products, which have the highest global market share at 23.8 per cent. The Thai gems and jewellery industry employed 1.2 million workers last year with exports worth more than US$15 billion (487 billion baht).
Kittisak Udomdangaram, president of the Thai Silver Exporters Association, revealed that 300,000 to 400,000 jobs in the industry have been affected by the worldwide Covid-19 crisis, which has hit demand in Europe and the US – Thailand’s biggest markets.
The president said that association members, household entrepreneurs, and jewellery workers were suffering the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic.
“The virus has affected us severely. We have no new orders. Many previous orders have been cancelled by retail stores because they have closed. Also, transportation has been affected by lockdowns in cities,” he said.
The virus crisis has shut down at least 50 percent of production in the Thai silver industry. The burden of paying salaries to unoccupied staff had fallen on businesses until recently, before the government offered them social security benefits as part of relief measures.
