Vietnam’s exports of gems and precious metals during the first half of this year increased by 58.1% to US$909.21 million in comparison with the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

June alone witnessed the export of these products rise by 23% to US$338.48 million in comparison to May’s figures, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.6%.

At present, Hong Kong (China) and the United States are the country’s leading export markets, making up 81.5% of total export turnover in terms of gems and precious metals.

Most notably, Vietnam grossed its highest earnings from exporting the products to Hong Kong with a value of US$613.46 million, representing a huge increase of 1,648% on-year, while exports to the US market declined by 31.5% to only US$127.44 million.

Other markets have also seen positive export growth, including Japan, France, Belgium, and the Republic of Korea.

The Thai market also witnessed strong turnover of US$1.32 million, marking an annual increase of 99.7%, while other markets endured a decline in export growth, including the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Australia.

Global gold prices have increased by 34% since the beginning of the year amid the complicated developments of the novel coronavirus epidemic, forcing Governments worldwide to devise and implement unprecedented stimulus solutions.

In particular, the price of a domestic SJC gold bar rose by between VND3-5 million per tael higher than the global one on average.

Currently, the price gap between local SJC gold bars and those globally has been reduced and is now only between VND500,000 to VND1 million per tael higher than the world’s.