Gems and jewellery exports grow by 12.32% in 2016-17

The gems and jewellery exports increased by 12.32 per cent to Rs 2.89 lakh crore during 2016-17, compared to the previous year, and are expected to see 10 per cent growth in the current financial year largely due to pick-up in demand.

The total exports stood at Rs 2.57 lakh crore during 2015-16, as per the data provided by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

"In FY17, the gems and jewellery shipping grew mainly as the economic conditions are becoming better in the major export destinations, including the US, Hong Kong and the Middle East. So looking at the current trend, we expect the overall exports to grow by 10 per cent in 2017-18," GJEPC Chairman Praveen Shanker Pandya told reporters here.

The export of cut and polished diamonds went up by 12.76 per cent at Rs 1.52 lakh crore during FY17, compared to Rs 1.35 lakh crore in the previous financial year.

The gold jewellery exports grew by 4.14 per cent at Rs 58,464.42 crore compared to Rs 56,137.90 crore in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, silver jewellery exports surged by 38.64 per cent at Rs 26,920.57 crore during FY17, as compared to 19,416.92 crore in the previous fiscal.

"We are witnessing a rise in demand for silver jewellery mainly in countries like Hong Kong, UAE and the US.

There are many exporters who have shifted to silver jeweller to capture this rising demand. We are looking at the reason for this trend and will work towards capturing the market, which represents huge potential," Pandya said.

Going forward, he said, the exporters are seeing huge demand in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. "We are expecting very good business in the CIS countries going forward," he added.

Coloured gemstones exports slightly declined by 1.12 per cent at Rs 2,815.31 crore during 2016-17, compared to Rs 2,847.18 crore in the year-ago period.

The overall imports of gems and jewellery 21.53 per cent at Rs 1.92 lakh crore during FY17, compared to Rs 1.58 lakh crore.

The overall gross imports of cut and polished diamonds declined by 2.80 per cent at Rs 17,619.56 crore during FY17 compared to Rs 18,127.70 crore in the previous financial year.

Imports of rough diamonds increased by 24.47 per cent at Rs 1.14 lakh crore during 2016-17, against Rs 91,970.53 crore in the previous financial year.

"This is a very positive trend for the industry and coincides with our goal to become the global hub for diamond. We hope to become a global leader in gems and jewellery business by 2022," Pandya said.