Swiss watch exports drop 3.9% in May

In May 2013, exports of Swiss watches dropped 3.9 percent (on y-o-y basis) to $1.958 billion, reports say.

This drop was influenced by the decrease in gold watch exports which fell 13.9 percent and a double-digit decline to key markets like Hong Kong, China and France, reports say.

The exports to three of six key markets for the Swiss watches saw a drop in the said month. The exports to Hong Kong dropped 16 percent to $364.9 million, to China it was down 19 percent to $125.5 million. The Swiss watches exported to France declined 15 percent to $112.1 million. As some respite the exports to U.S. was almost same in value as its corresponding May month of 2012, with a 0.9 percent drop to $208.2 million. Exports to Italy and Germany grow at a slow pace.

The exports of wristwatches fell 3.8 percent to $1.905 billion and in volume terms it was down 7.9 percent to 2.3 million.