The 55th Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair (BGJF55) was successfully held in Bangkok from 24 to 28 February 2015, registered over 3,000 exhibitors, and attracted visitors from more than 120 countries and regions, by using incentives including Duty Free and Zero VAT. With the theme ‘AEC Showcase: Gateway to AEC Market’, the fair aimed to promote Thailand as a platform to connect ASEAN to the world.
BGJF55 was organised by the Gems, Jewelry and Precious Metal Confederation of Thailand (GJPCT) and Thai Gem and Jewelry Traders Association (TGJTA). With the support of the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, it continued to attract key players in the world’s jewellery industry, said organisers.
Nuantawan Sakuntanaga, general director of DITP presided over the opening ceremony, stated that the fair’s position has been attested as the gateway of the gems and jewellery industries from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) through the world. “One of the main mechanisms is that BGJF has served as a crucial platform for jewellers around the world, and helped promote trade of gems and jewellery products from Thailand,” she said.
“We confirm that Thailand is more than ready to be the global centre of trade, design and manufacture of quality gems and jewellery products regionally and globally. In accordance with the upcoming AEC this year, Thailand is committed to helping realise an economic community as a whole,” she estimated.
Moreover, in cooperation with TGJTA, the Thai government continuously provided and facilitated trade opportunities for the industry this time. The Zero VAT zone has been a long-standing incentive at BGJF for several years with 7-percent value added tax exemption, for all imports of rough gemstones and raw materials into Thailand for manufacturing, which only 1-percent tax would be paid when the finished product is sold within the country. Since the last edition, the government has given the green light for the fair to become a Duty Free zone which exempted 20 percent import duties on all gems and jewellery products by legitimate exhibitors. These two initiatives attracted greater visitors and buyers who came to the fair for a wider range of products at better prices.
Thailand’s raw materials like coloured gemstone and silver are famous worldwide attracting consumers from Greater China where Thailand products’ main market is, and also from other countries like the Western ones. Among international buyers, Tracye Burch, general manager of Underwoods Fine Jewellers which is a fine jewellery company from Australia offers custom design and full workshop services, told Hong Kong Jewellery that the company sources gemstones and diamonds in Asia for the need of designers and customers. “We went to Hong Kong exhibitions to source coloured gemstones last time, and then found that most of the materials we bought were from Thailand. So this time we come here to buy gemstones and other materials directly,” she explained.
Another buyer Shirley Leung from Jewellery Collection, Hong Kong said: “This is my first time to BGJF aiming to source ruby and sapphire. Even though the visitor flow of this exhibition is not that well, products and materials that Thailand exhibitors offer are premium, and some of the exhibitors have no subsidiary companies in Hong Kong.”
The deputy prime minister of Thailand, Pridiyathorn Devakula, attended the Thank You Party on the second day of BGJF55 and gave a speech, expressing that the Thai gems and jewellery industry has played a significant role propelling the country’s economy. “In the last three years, gems and jewellery ranked the 3rd largest export of Thailand with the value of nearly US$10 billion. This demonstrates that the gems and jewellery business in Thailand is continuously strong even under the current global economic downturn. As the government fully recognises the importance of the export sector, it encourages measures to promote and support exporters such as duty free policy and business facilitation to enhance higher development potential,” he said.
The design pavilion is a signature area of BGJF. With the theme ‘the colourful Ploi Thai, the spirit of ASEAN’ this year, it highlighted the use of Ploi Thai, the country brand for jewellery creation set with fine gemstones, precisely-cut, polished and produced in Thailand. The pavilion also exhibited the ‘Ploi Thai Creation’ from winners and finalists of Thailand Young Designer 2016 Awards. Out of the 30 competitors, the winner was the team from the Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University. President of GJPCT and TGJTA Somchai Phornchindarak attended the event and said: “The Thailand Young Designer 2016 Project is a prime example of the cooperative effort by GJPCT, DITP and Thai universities to promote the country’s development of young talent in gem and jewellery design.” The 56th BGJF is scheduled for 10-15 September 2015. Visit www.bangkokgemsfair.com for more information.
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