Gold jewellery exports to hit RM6bil this year
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Goldsmith Association (PGA) is projecting the value of Malaysia’s gold jewellery exports to hit about RM6bil in 2017, compared to RM7.18bil achieved in 2016.
“The decline would be due to the value added tax (VAT) imposed by the UAE government for their importers and higher gold prices.
“The VAT which is around 9% has deterred UAE gold jewellery importers from buying Malaysian manufactured gold jewellery,” PGA adviser Joeson Khor told StarBiz.
The UAE is the top buyer of Malaysianmade gold jewellery products for 2016.
According to Matrade data, Malaysia exported some RM6.48bil worth of gold jewellery products to the UAE in 2016.
From January -July 2017, exports to the UAE declined to RM3.48bil from RM3.7bil in the same period last year.
Besides the UAE, the other key export markets for Malaysian gold jewellery products during the seven-month period were Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States.
For the same period, Malaysia imported RM1.74bil worth of jewellery products compared to RM1.71bil in the same period of 2016.
Khor said the volume was unlikely to have any significant impact on the market share of local gold jewellery manufacturers in the country.
Due to the prevailing economic uncertainties prevailing in the country and higher gold prices, the retail sales of gold jewellery products has dropped about 30%, according to Khor.
“Gold price is expected to increase further this year,” he added.
Gold price currently hovers around US$1,225 per ounce compared with US$1,187 per ounce early this year.