An unprecedented decline of exports in the first half
Like the global economy, the Swiss watch industry experienced an unprecedented crisis in the first half of the year, the consequences of which will affect it for a long time. The market was at a standstill for many weeks during this period and most trade was interrupted. After a promising start to the year, as yet unaffected by Covid-19, Swiss watch exports began to fall sharply in March and then came to a halt in April and May. Although the decline in June was still very pronounced, there were signs that the initial shock had passed and that the expected recovery had begun, albeit timidly, and only due to China in the short term. In six months, the sector exported the equivalent of 6.9 billion francs, far from the 10.7 billion posted for the same period last year, a fall of 35.7% compared with the first half of 2019.