Interview with Mr. Mustafa Kamar, Chairman of the Board of the Jewellery Exporters' Association (JTR) Regarding the Sector

Estimate Reading Time: 8 min

In 2020 and 2021, the pandemic negatively affected many sectors around the world. So how is 2021 going for the jewellery industry?

As you very well know, jewellery is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the consumer first gave up on luxury consumption in an economic downturn. The jewellery industry has been deeply affected, as we are an industry that exports, especially with passengers, due to the fact that flights have come to a standstill.

But we are doing our best with the activities we will do to realize our sector targets for 2021. JCK Las Vegas National Participation Fair, the first fair after 1.5 years, was held on August 27-30.

Between 7 and 10th of October 2021, Turkey' s first and only international jewellery fair, Istanbul Jewellery Show International Jewellery, Silver, Watch and Accessories Fair will be participated by the Jewellery Exporters' Association's info and product stand, where design products will be exhibited. In January 2022, a procurement committee will gather in Antalya.

What are the 2020 figures of the Turkish Jewellery Industry and your export target for 2021?

According to TIM data, we exported 3.8 billion dollars (FOB value) in 2020. If we add the price of gold bullion made with DIR to this figure, we reach a total export figure of 6.4 billion dollars.

According to TIM data, in the January-December period of 2020, jewellery made of gold, made of gold, amounted to 1.6 billion dollars, with a decrease of 17% compared to the previous period. Along with the gold price brought by the inward processing regime, jewellery items made of gold were exported, with a 30% decrease between January and December 2020, amounting to 3.4 billion dollars.

Considering the 27% rise in gold prices, the real decline in jewellery exports is around 50%. Between 01.01.2021 and 30.06.2021, jewellery exports increased by 52.23% compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to $2,460,694,165.

Our goal is to increase our exports to 9 billion dollars.

Which are the countries to which we export the most jewellery as Turkey and what is the latest situation in these markets? Can you tell us about the new markets you are targeting?

The countries we export the most jewellery are the USA, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Egypt and Kyrgyzstan.

We aim to strengthen our presence in the European market, the USA and the Middle East by reaching more countries through e-commerce (JBOX).

Could you give brief information about Turkey's jewellery production and export capacity?

Although Turkey has an annual gold processing capacity of 400 tons, it cannot use all of this capacity. In our country, approximately 250-300 tons of gold jewellery is produced every year. More than 250,000 jobs are provided in the sector with 35,000 jewellers and 6,000 manufacturers.

What would you like to say about the production power, workmanship, product quality and logistics of the Turkish jewellery industry, what is our place in the world and our future goals in this regard, what is our growth potential?

Our companies are in a good position in production, craftsmanship, product quality and logistics. We are:

• One of the top 4 countries in the world, together with India, China and Italy, which export its production,
• One of the 3 largest manufacturers in the world, along with India and China,
• One of the 5 largest markets in the world, along with India, China, USA and Russia.

The jewellery industry is well above the average of the other 26 sectors in Turkey and has a 5% share of the world export market.

Our Main Goal: To ensure that our country is a playmaker in the world in the production and export of jewellery. And it has the potential to make it happen. While it is a pleasing development that the share of our sector's exports in world exports has doubled in the last 10 years, we believe that we will increase this rate to 10% when our sector potential is considered.

Considering the variety of products exported by the Turkish Jewellery Industry, which products and markets are mostly exported?

Exports of gold products are high. The most exported countries in this group are United Arab Emirates, Iraq, United States of America, Hong Kong, Libya, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Netherlands and Germany.

How do you evaluate the digital transformation of Turkish jewellery industry representatives?

As we all know, the Covid-19 global pandemic has brought a new dimension to international trade. Due to transportation difficulties and physical gathering concerns all over the world, online platforms have started to replace the usual marketing activities. Our Board of Directors, without wasting any time in the first months of the Pandemic, we set out for an E-Commerce Platform project in order to quickly catch up with the world dynamics.

Turkishjewellery.org is the Grand Bazaar of the new normal period, which allows time and space independent export! Professional photographs of 200 products of each participating company taken from 2 angles, 360-degree product videos and photographs taken on live models are displayed on the portal. So, we shot every product from 4 angles, professionally. And we produced approximately 50,000 contents.

JOIN: Jewellery Online International Network: In the National Participation Organizations we have organized for international fairs as the Union, our aim in the sectoral Trade Committees and travels we organized such as Miami, Riyadh and Antalya was to do marketing through Guerrilla Marketing.

As a result of the pandemic in the world today, we have encountered intense demands from both the Ministry and our sector for the organization of virtual organizations. We have continued our efforts to present the world's best virtual live sales organization to our industry.

The first of these was organized between 16-18 February 2021, and our buyers and exporters from all over the world came together on the online platform. The second of this event was organized between 14-16 April 2021. Virtual events will continue to be organized throughout 2021.

In addition, the publication of JTR Export Magazine, which is the corporate publication of the Jewellery Exporters' Association, will continue. In addition, with the publication of WOJ Magazine, international big jewellery players will be reached and the positive image of the developing Turkish jewellery market will be reinforced. Together with these, Birlik News, which started to be published during the pandemic process, will continue to send summaries of global jewellery industry news to our members' e-mail addresses and mobile phones. Publications in foreign languages will also be made on the Global Jewellery News website, and periodic bulletins will be delivered to foreign buyers.

What will be at the forefront among the 2021-2022 jewellery trends?

Pearl earrings and pearl necklaces on gold, earrings that do not fit together, necklaces with long pendants, diamond and gold double chain are among the newest trends of 2021.

What is the importance of the Istanbul Jewellery Show, which you support as the Jewellery Exporters' Association and many of your member companies participate in, for the jewellery industry? What are your expectations for the October Fair?

In the purchasing committees we organize for the Istanbul Jewellery Show, one of the 5 biggest jewellery fairs in the world, we bring our industry together with nearly 1500 VIP buyers at the March fair and nearly 1000 buyers at the October fair.

Playing an important role in the Turkish Jewellery industry reaching its export target of 9 billion USD, Istanbul Jewellery Show March and October fairs broke its own record by hosting more than 50 thousand jewellery buyers in 2019. The interest of world jewellery industry representatives in Istanbul Jewellery Show and Turkey is increasing every year.

Compared to the October 2018 fair, the October 2019 fair had an increase of 164% in African countries, 41% in North American countries, 11% in Asian countries, 10% in Middle Eastern countries and 8% in European countries. In order to increase exports, find new markets for export products and maintain market share, the International Buyer Delegation Program was carried out. Within the scope of the program, more than 1000 buyers from Europe, Middle East, USA, North Africa and Far East countries were hosted within the scope of the fair.

Master and inexperienced designers exhibited trendy products for 2019-2020 fashion at the Designer Market, which was organized to increase the competitiveness of the sector in international markets by producing high value-added products, to contribute to the development of sectoral design awareness, and to promote the craftsmen who have worked in the jewellery profession.

At our fairs, we also carry out advertising activities to impress the perception of Turkish jewellery on the route used by both the airport and the buyer until they reach the fairground.

How are our exporting companies preparing for the fair, what kind of innovations await our visitors at the Istanbul Jewellery Show, which will be held between October 7th and 10th?

Istanbul Jewellery Show fairs are almost the festive days of the industry. Both national and international jewellery industry members come together to ensure product supplies, but on the other hand, they come together and reinforce their friendship.

In this respect, the jewellery industry is based on long-standing friendships and we can say that these fairs allow old friends to see each other. When you look at it from this aspect, we can say that our companies are prepared by inviting their customers to the fairs. This is a must for the fair.

Another stage of preparation is the products they will present, new collections and designs. Each of our companies is diligently busy preparing their own products, which they will showcase at the fair. Again, there is a feverish work in our companies in order to motivate their employees to the fair. It is very important to motivate all employees, from the master in production to the marketer at the stand. All preparations continue intensively until the fair, and the two days before the fair, stands are set up with great care and the showcases are arranged and made ready for the fair.

You, too, have been a participant in the Istanbul Jewellery Show for many years with your company. How many years have you been attending the fair? What is the importance of Istanbul Jewellery Show for your company?

We, as the Jewellery Exporters' Association, have been participating in fairs for years with our info stand and Designer Market stand. These fairs are important platforms to represent our companies at an international level. By communicating with many local and foreign sector members, we provide the data and connections that will form the basis of our works for the sector.

On the other hand, our association has been authorized to formally organize purchasing delegations for Istanbul Jewellery Show fairs for years, and it hosts thousands of buyers and brings our companies and buyers together through bilateral meetings. In particular, we have already started our preparations for the Istanbul Jewellery Show – March 2022, which will be held on March 24-27, 2022. Our aim is to attract as many foreign buyers as possible to this biggest fair of the sector in our country.

Finally, what would you like to say to our visitors who plan to visit the fair?

As we mentioned before, we hope that all our visitors to these fairs, which are almost the feast of the industry, integrate with the industry and spend a full time, especially by compensating for the period of separation due to force majeure.

We should see our industry as a big family with its producers, exporters and jewellers all over the country, and fairs as a family meeting. In this context, we can say that we are confident that each exhibitor will be able to find the products they are looking for, according to the needs and demands of the buyers.

In order to save time, we recommend those who will visit the fair to review the website, study the hall and stand numbers from the exhibitor list in advance, and make an appointment if possible. We wish you successful fairs and good profits in advance.

We would like to thank Mr. Mustafa Kamar, Chairman of the Board of the Jewellery Exporters' Association (JTR) for his important information.

Meet the World at the Jewelry Exhibition

Istanbul Jewelry Show which brings business opportunities to all professionals of the jewelry sector is being organized as the biggest event of the region since 1986. Sponsored by HRD Antwerp, the jewelry exhibition, represents a large geography ranging from near east to eastern Europe, and from Russia to north Africa.

Recognized as one of the top 5 international jewelry exhibitions in the world, Istanbul Jewelry Show is preferred both because of Istanbul’s significance as a tourism destination and its accessibility due to its geographical location.

To make your business connections and deals under the same roof, all you need to do is to secure your space at the jewelry exhibition. At the exhibition which will be organized between 7-10 October 2021, you can also benefit in terms of B2B relations management. Click here to register online.

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