India doubles Gem-n-jewellery exports in a decade!
India grew to USD 41 bn in FY18 as against USB 21 bn in FY08
Gold Jewellery exports jumps around
11% at USD 9673.23 mn in FY18 vis-à-vis
USD 8,721.88 mn in FY17
The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India, announced the performance figures for the Indian Gems & Jewellery Sector for FY 20017- 18. The Indian Gem and Jewellery industry has witnessed a decline of 5.06 % with total gem & jewellery exports recorded at USD 40972.36 million (Rs. 264130.64 crores ) as compared to USD 43,157.11 million ( Rs. 289207.47 crores) in the same period last year.
The growth in the sector was primarily driven by the Cut & Polished Diamonds (CPD) segment, which witnessed an increase of 4.17%. The export sales of CPD grew to USD 23732.96 million during FY 2017-18 from USD 22,783.85 million in the corresponding period in FY 2016-17, while total volume of CPD were at 348.60 Lakh carats during FY 2017-18 as compared to 322.13 lakh carats in the corresponding period in FY 2016-17.
Gold Jewellery Exports registered a growth of 10.91% with exports recorded at US$ 9673.23 million in FY 2017-18 as compared to US$ 8,721.88 million in FY 2016-17. Colored Gemstones grew by 3.14% to USD 433.31 million in FY 2017-18 as compared to US$ 420.11 million in FY 2016-17. Exports of silver jewellery decreased by 15.80% to USD 3385.65 mn in FY18 as compared to USD 4021.03 mn in FY17.
Over the last ten years, the Gems and Jewellery exports from India have doubled to USD 41 bn in FY18 as against USB 21 bn in FY08. At the same period, the Cut & Polished Diamond exports grew at USD 24 bn from USD 14 bn in FY08.
Major Export Destinations for the Gems & Jewellery Sector in FY2017-18 were Hong Kong with 33% followed by UAE with 25% of exports and USA at 23%.
The imports of rough diamonds grew 10.59% in FY18 to USD 18889.01 mn as compared to USD 17080.23 mn in FY17. Import of cut and polished diamonds dropped 15.08% to USD 2236.46 mn in FY18 as compared to USD 2633.71 mn in FY17. Net imports of Gems & Jewellery was up by 9.69% at USD 31516.7 mn in FY18 as compared with USD 28733.6 mn in FY17.
Commenting on the gem and jewellery exports performance, Mr Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC said, “Gem and Jewellery today contributes nearly ‘7% to India’s GDP’ and contributes over ‘15% to Merchandise Exports’. India has become undisputed world leader in cut and polished diamond exports, polishing nearly ‘One Billion’ stones each year.
The industry today stands to over USD 41 Bn and employees to over 5 Mn workforce currently. With changing lifestyles and improvement in living standards, the Gems and Jewellery sector is likely to grow at a rapid pace and hence GJEPC intends to add 3Mn more workforce by the year 2022.
India exports 93% of world’s polished diamonds worth USD 23 billion and almost 14 out of 15 diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are processed in India.” “GJEPC will set a Jewellery Park in Mumbai very soon. The jewellery park project is estimated to generate direct employment to around 1,00,000 workers for the State of Maharashtra”, he added
Mr Colin Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC commented on the future initiatives which GJEPC intends to take in the fiscal year 2018-19. He said that, US is the largest consumer of Diamonds and Jewellery globally and the region is showing an upward trend. US imports 16% of its jewellery from India.
At Council we are making concerted efforts to grow the demand for “India Made” Jewellery Products in the established markets such as the US, HK and China. Exploring and penetrating new markets such as Iran, Jordan, Turkey, Latin America , Russia and SE Asia is also on the anvil. Focused Buyer Seller Matching Programs are lined up for the year for across product categories to boost demand for Diamonds, gemstones and Jewellery.”
He Says, “GJEPC is committed to the four pillar principles of fair trade. One, it leads in workplace modernization. Two, it has created model programs for the health and welfare of its workers. Three, it plays a dominant role in global diamond and jewellery advertising.
Four, it is building state-of-the-art gemological laboratories that ensure diamonds are not only natural and well-crafted but ethically sourced. GJEPC has earned a proven right to proclaim adherence to fair-trade principles and practices”
