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EU27 imports and growth rate
The total costume jewelry imports of the EU27 bloc for 2009 were around USD 3.1 billion. This figure represents 36.1% of the total world costume jewelry imports amounting to USD 8.8 billion for the same year. Although the EU27’s import growth rate in 2009 was minus 27.6%, average rate for the period 2005 to 2009 still managed to hold at an annual rate of 1%. See table below. It would have been much higher if not for the declines in 2009. Growth peaked in 2007 when it reached 14%.
Leading EU27 importers
The leading EU27 costume jewelry importers in 2009 were Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and Ireland as shown in table above. The countries of Germany and the United Kingdom have shares of around 19% each of the total EU27 costume jewelry imports in 2009 while France, Italy and Austria represent 17.2%, 14.3% and 10.7% respectively for the same year. The rest of the countries cover not more than 6% each of the total imports.
Austria as a preferred market?
Among the EU27 countries, Austria is already ranked among the top 5 for world costume jewelry exports, but most significant is the growth rate. Imports from 2005 to 2009 are consistently growing at the average rate of 19.4% yearly. This is well above the EU27 average of 1% for the same period as also shown in the table above. Austria is also the only country in the top 10 EU27 costume jewelry importers that have reported positive import growth rate of 3.9% in 2009.
Driver for Austria’s import growth
The main driver for the increase in Austria’s costume jewelry imports is the strong influence of fashion trends in clothing and matching accessories. Necklaces, bangles and earrings with glittering or colorful crystal beads have been popular until the present time partly because the Austrians are becoming more conscious about their appearance, especially for the increasing numbers of working women.
Austria’s costume jewelry suppliers
The leading supplier of costume jewelry to Austria in 2009 was Thailand, covering around 35% of total imports or in the amount of USD 118 million. See table below. Thailand was followed by China with about 25% share while other countries have shares of not more than 13% each of the total Austrian costume jewelry imports. The Philippines ranked 25th, slightly above its competitors like Indonesia (ranked 30th) and Vietnam (ranked 32nd) which are also suppliers of costume jewelry articles to Austria.
Austria’s imports from the Philippines
Austria’s costume jewelry imports from the Philippines in 2009 were valued at USD 329 thousand, more than double compared with the imports from Indonesia and Vietnam amounted to USD 135 thousand and USD 122 thousand for the same year. However, Austria’s import growth rate from the Philippines for the period 2005 to 2009 was characterized by a downward trend, averaging at minus 14.8% yearly. The countries of China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam reported negative growths of minus 2% (Philippines) to minus 65% (Vietnam) in 2009, except for Thailand with positive growth of 13%.
Other opportunities in Austria
As the jewelry market for working women still develops, there are opportunities for exporters in offering other forms of costume jewelries with charms or stones, pendants with amulets and hair accessories. Other interesting market niches could be found in the rising number of immigrants and tourists where all sorts of costume jewelries could attract this target group. Since the internet is well established in Austria, direct selling to consumers is also another good opportunity for exporters who wish to market their products online.
 Reference:
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CBI Market Survey: The jewellery market in Austria
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