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EXPORTS

Swiss watch industry exports hit new high

Swiss watchmakers posted record exports last year of 21.4 billion francs ($23.5 billion), which was nearly 11 percent more than a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday.

Published: 5 February 2013 13:33 CET
Swiss watch industry exports hit new high
Photo: Ofer Deshe

"In an often unfavourable economic climate, the Swiss watch industry clearly managed to hold its own," the federation said in a statement.
 
The Swiss watchmaking industry has over the past three years seen an unprecedented surge in sales, especially in China, which is displaying an increasing appetite for European luxury goods.
 
That trend might be shifting however.

In December, Swiss watch exports slipped 5.6 percent to 1.8 billion Swiss francs, with a 15-percent drop in their biggest market, Hong Kong, and a full 32.3-percent plunge in mainland China.

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EXPORTS

‘Trade has collapsed’: Germany sees business with UK slump after Brexit

Germany's exports ticked up in January on robust trade with China, but trade with another key trade partner, Great Britain, plummeted after the Britain left the EU.

Published: 9 March 2021 12:22 CET
'Trade has collapsed': Germany sees business with UK slump after Brexit
Southampton harbour. Photo:Andrew Matthews/DPA

The Brexit fallout has continued to hurt commerce with the United Kingdom, with federal statistics office Destatis recording a 29 percent plunge in German exports across the Channel.

Meanwhile, demand for UK goods in Germany collapsed by more than 56 percent, official data showed Tuesday.

Cross-Channel exporters have had to adapt to new customs requirements from January 1, following Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union.

Firms on both sides have since complained of increased bureaucracy and shipment delays as they grapple with the new rules.

BREXIT: What changes in Germany from January 2021?

“Foreign trade with Britain has collapsed,” said LBBW bank economist Jens-Oliver Niklasch.

Overall, German exports rose 1.4 percent month-on-month in seasonally adjusted figures, Destatis said.

But imports sank as coronavirus shutdowns sapped consumer demand in Europe’s top economy.

Imports slumped 4.7 percent, widening Germany’s closely-watched trade surplus to 22.2 billion euros.

Compared with a year ago, before the pandemic ravaged the global economy, exports fell 8.0 percent in January and imports almost 10 percent.

“Consumer demand fell sharply in January due to a lack of opportunities” as the government kept non-essential shops, leisure and cultural centres closed to rein in the coronavirus,  Niklasch.

But demand for “made in Germany” goods was powered by vital trade partner China, which has recovered faster from the virus shock.

Exports to European Union countries plunged six percent year-on-year, while demand for EU goods within Germany was down by almost the same.

Combined with Germany’s struggles to bring down Covid-19 infections despite months of shutdowns, “the January reading is not an indication of renewed German export strength, but rather an alarm bell for the first quarter.”

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