SURAT: India's export of gems and jewellery items are plunging. Jewellery exports nosedived in 2008 following recession in the US and European countries.
Surat’s jewelers normally see huge orders in the month of December because of the Christmas season in the US. Almost half of the orders for Surat’s diamond traders and jewelers come during this time.
However, December was a very bad month for the traders in Surat this time as they witnessed a huge fall in orders in the past month.
According to reports, orders for gems and jewellery exports, which contribute nearly 10 per cent to Indian exports, have dipped to dismal levels.
Traders said there were no bulk orders from big retailers. They get orders based on quarterly requirements now, and they have halved. With the Christmas season ending, they are expecting that there would be some requirement from overseas markets.
Traders now hope that Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year may bring some orders.
Orders for textile items after March have also plummeted to the levels seen by the engineering sector.
The sector would have collapsed if Chinese textile exporters were not facing a bigger problem than India. But most textile exporters are yet to receive orders after March. In 2008-09, a dip of 5 per cent in Indian textile exports is expected.
India exported gems and jewellery worth $20.921 billion last year of which US accounted for 26 per cent or $5,461.05 million. Total gems and jewellery exports to the Hong Kong also recorded to $5,354.54 million of which 50 per cent is re-exported to the US.
This means, India’s export of gems and jewellery is destined finally to the US to the tune of over 40 per cent. A decline of 20 per cent on export will have 40 per cent fall in receivables which means the situation is grim.
Source : CommodityOnline