Swiss watch exports down in October: China and Hong Kong down, USA and Japan hold
In October, Swiss watch exports fell by 2.2% year-on-year. The United States and Japan remained the main driving markets, while China and Hong Kong declined again. Europe showed a varied picture, with the UK posting a moderate positive sign
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Limited decline in October for Swiss watch exports. By far the main drivers were once again the USA and Japan, while China and Hong Kong saw further declines. There was a mixed picture for Europe, with the United Kingdom showing a moderate positive sign and the other major markets showing a negative sign, including Italy which, however, recorded a limited decline.
In the month, exports of Swiss timepieces amounted to CHF 2.34 billion (EUR 2.51 billion at current exchange rates), 2.2% less than a year earlier. For the whole of January to October 2024, Swiss exports amounted to CHF 21.53 billion (EUR 23.14 billion), 2.6 per cent less than in the same period of 2023. The sharp fall in October (-12.4%) was therefore not repeated, which allowed the overall decline to remain within the expected limits.
In October there was this trend for the ten largest markets: US 421 million francs (+11%), Japan 190 million (+20%), China 167 million (-38%), UK 164 million (+2%), Hong Kong 161 million (-14%), Singapore 143 million (+0.6%), Germany 108 million (-5%), France 106 million (-4%), UAE 97 million (-13%), Italy 93 million (-1.4%). As far as the type of product exported is concerned, the high range (price above CHF 3,000) again played the biggest role, with +1.7% in value; for the medium-high range (price between CHF 500 and 3,000) there was -21%, for the medium range (price between CHF 200 and 500) -9% and for the basic range (price below CHF 200) -12%.
