Signs of recovery for gem and jewellery trade.

CHENNAI: The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s (GJEPC) performance figures for the financial year 2009-2010 showed the true resilience of the Indian industry over the last year when it braved and continued with its consistent plans of building trading relations and penetrating newer markets.

Today, India is undeniably the America’s largest supplier of jewellery, thereby recording an import figure of 25 per cent. India’s diamond share in the world market has also witnessed an increase in the period in value terms from 60 per cent to 70 per cent.

Vasant Mehta, Chairman, GJEPC, said, “After having undergone challenging times in FY 2008-09, the Indian gem and jewellery industry is on the path of recovery, experiencing an upward trend due to GJEPC’s constant endeavor to sustain trade relations with the US, besides expanding its base to other markets.” “The time has come to establish India as a ‘Brand’ to reckon with in the gem and jewellery sector. Indian gem and jewellery industry today enjoys a leadership position globally in manufacturing of diamonds, which is attributed to the in-house expertise of manufacturing and cutting edge craftsmanship. The world is eyeing India today for trade across various sectors,” Mehta added.

One of India’s leading foreign exchange earning sectors over the year has witnessed a considerable growth in the volume of exports, which have been pegged at $28 billion. From export figures of $28414.64 million in the FY 2008-2009, the exports have shown considerable increase and have registered at $24495.58 million in FY 2009-2010, thus indicating an increase of 16 per cent in the total gem and jewellery exports. The performance of the industry is critical as it contributes 13 per cent to India’s total merchandise exports.

The growth in the sector was primarily driven by cut and polished diamonds, which had registered an increase of 20.11 per cent in FY ’10.

The exports had grown from $ 14605.27 million in 2008-09 to $17542.29 million in 2009-2010. Cut and polished diamonds accounted for 61.74 per cent of the total export baskets with gold jewellery comprising 31.17 per cent, while colour gemstones and others accounting for 5.09 per cent.

Gold jewellery exports have also been on a rise with the figures accounting for a 9.38 per cent increase in FY 2009-10. Coloured gemstone exports have also increased by 10.55 per cent in dollar terms with the sector witnessing a rise from $259.29 million in 2008-09 to $286.65 million in 2009- 2010.

“GJEPC, the apex trade body, took the leadership stance in the challenging times and launched a generic diamond promotion campaign under ‘Anant’ to drive diamond jewellery sales in India,” remarked Mehta.

GJEPC will be hosting IIJS Mumbai 2010 from August 19 to 23, 2010, considered to be the largest jewellery show in Asia and is undeniably a breeding ground to foster relations with other markets across the world.

Source : Expressbuzz.com