The recently held Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Show received good recognistion from the Prime Minister of Thailand, when he inaugurated the show. This marks a statement of the Thai gem & jewellery sector being important to the country’s growth, as its second largest export industry after rice. Beginning on 25 February 2009, the show housed around 1200 companies showcasing their products.

During the three days of the show, the participation was not as much as that of the previous years. It was lower by almost 30 -35 percent. Buyers flocking the show were mostly from Iran, Pakistan , India , Russia and some middle east countries and few parts of Europe. America saw very little representation at the show in terms of buyers.

Thailand has been a region known for its speciality in gemstones an has built itself into one of the world’s largest centre for loose gemstones, attracting buyers at the show. Silver jewellery also drew good attention, but the fluctuating prices of silver pose a difficulty in smooth deal closures. Another area that got good response.

Many diamond companies refrained from participating due to low demand for diamonds. Jewellery manufacturing in Thailand has seen a slow pattern in the past few months with a job cut of around 50,000 workers due to the global economic crises. But the industry carries hope that it will surge through this time soon for good times to roll ahead.