Pearls, precious stones and precious metals: South Korea exports and imports
HS chapter 71 · 천연진주ㆍ양식진주ㆍ귀석ㆍ반귀석ㆍ귀금속ㆍ귀금속을 입힌 금속과 이들의 제품, 모조 신변장식용품, 주화 · latest month: October 2026
In October 2026, South Korea exported $879.1 million of pearls, precious stones and precious metals (HS 71), up 3.7% from September 2026 and down 7.9% from October 2025.
Over the 12 months to October 2026, exports of pearls, precious stones and precious metals (HS 71) totalled $14.48 billion, up 109.8% from the 12 months before ($6.90 billion).
The largest destination over the 12 months to October 2026 was Hong Kong ($5.62 billion, 38.8% of the total), followed by Japan and Singapore.
That was 1.4% of South Korea's total goods exports over the same 12 months.
Imports in October 2026 were $824.0 million (down 68.4% from October 2025), leaving a surplus of $55.2 million for the month.
Official description of HS 71: Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin.
Last 24 months
Headings under chapter 71
Top destinations
Export value over the 12 months to October 2026. 156 countries received this product from South Korea in the last 24 months; the table shows the largest 20.
| Rank | Country | Exports, 12 months | Share | vs 12 months before | Rank before | October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | $5.62B | 38.8% | +111.7% | 1 | $77.1M |
| 2 | Japan | $1.77B | 12.2% | +56.5% | 2 | $202.0M |
| 3 | Singapore | $1.51B | 10.4% | +277.4% | 4 | $48.3M |
| 4 | United States | $1.02B | 7.1% | +35.1% | 3 | $72.6M |
| 5 | United Kingdom | $848.1M | 5.9% | +132.1% | 5 | $159.5M |
| 6 | Australia | $808.0M | 5.6% | +962.3% | 14 | $4.4M |
| 7 | Switzerland | $423.3M | 2.9% | +324.9% | 12 | $11.0M |
| 8 | Germany | $394.1M | 2.7% | +148.3% | 9 | $22.2M |
| 9 | Taiwan | $389.8M | 2.7% | +99.5% | 6 | $40.2M |
| 10 | Thailand | $371.1M | 2.6% | +116.6% | 8 | $8.6M |
| 11 | China | $352.9M | 2.4% | +94.8% | 7 | $26.2M |
| 12 | India | $270.6M | 1.9% | +137.5% | 11 | $160.7M |
| 13 | Vietnam | $190.8M | 1.3% | +39.7% | 10 | $15.3M |
| 14 | Philippines | $115.4M | 0.8% | +42.7% | 13 | $9.9M |
| 15 | Canada | $94.9M | 0.7% | +102.1% | 17 | $1.3M |
| 16 | France | $66.7M | 0.5% | +203.5% | 20 | $4.2M |
| 17 | United Arab Emirates | $51.4M | 0.4% | +23.2% | 18 | $2.7M |
| 18 | Indonesia | $29.3M | 0.2% | +8.4% | 19 | $2.5M |
| 19 | Italy | $24.7M | 0.2% | +17.4% | 21 | $757K |
| 20 | Belgium | $24.4M | 0.2% | +5,657% | 42 | $22K |
Countries are linked when exports of this product to them reached $1,000,000 over 24 months.
Monthly figures
| Month | Exports | vs year earlier | Export weight | Export $/kg | Imports | Import weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $879.1M | -7.9% | 1,363 t | $645.05 | $824.0M | 1,323 t |
| September 2026 | $847.4M | +52.0% | 978 t | $866.29 | $998.6M | 2,481 t |
| August 2026 | $942.3M | +40.6% | 960 t | $981.64 | $812.1M | 1,643 t |
| July 2026 | $1.23B | +89.2% | 603 t | $2,037.81 | $950.9M | 1,924 t |
| June 2026 | $1.57B | +117.4% | 634 t | $2,473.09 | $814.7M | 1,427 t |
| May 2026 | $1.71B | +172.7% | 467 t | $3,664.59 | $1.05B | 1,888 t |
| April 2026 | $1.44B | +152.2% | 902 t | $1,599.81 | $1.10B | 1,455 t |
| March 2026 | $1.86B | +318.3% | 755 t | $2,458.58 | $1.32B | 1,792 t |
| February 2026 | $1.24B | +137.2% | 709 t | $1,751.35 | $1.99B | 1,504 t |
| January 2026 | $901.9M | +145.4% | 689 t | $1,308.25 | $1.96B | 1,668 t |
| December 2025 | $814.0M | +99.7% | 785 t | $1,037.13 | $1.48B | 1,835 t |
| November 2025 | $1.04B | +158.2% | 825 t | $1,264.78 | $2.06B | 1,564 t |
| October 2025 | $954.1M | +177.6% | 944 t | $1,011.23 | $2.61B | 1,620 t |
| September 2025 | $557.6M | +15.7% | 686 t | $812.77 | $1.27B | 1,440 t |
| August 2025 | $670.3M | +6.0% | 808 t | $829.96 | $575.5M | 1,420 t |
| July 2025 | $650.0M | +25.1% | 927 t | $701.40 | $696.3M | 1,465 t |
| June 2025 | $721.3M | +76.8% | 753 t | $958.47 | $658.4M | 1,265 t |
| May 2025 | $627.8M | +17.0% | 673 t | $933.43 | $681.2M | 1,291 t |
| April 2025 | $572.0M | -1.3% | 949 t | $603.04 | $569.4M | 1,085 t |
| March 2025 | $443.6M | -1.1% | 889 t | $499.13 | $988.4M | 935 t |
| February 2025 | $523.3M | +50.6% | 728 t | $718.48 | $1.15B | 1,112 t |
| January 2025 | $367.6M | +10.6% | 975 t | $377.14 | $594.4M | 1,045 t |
| December 2024 | $407.6M | +16.2% | 579 t | $704.04 | $487.8M | 910 t |
| November 2024 | $404.2M | +15.5% | 644 t | $627.85 | $555.7M | 1,051 t |
Exports FOB, imports CIF, US dollars. Weight is net weight. "vs year earlier" compares export value with the same month one year before and is left blank when that month was under $10,000. Source: Korea Customs Service, via data.go.kr.