Gem, jewellery exports decline by 4.21% in Nov to Rs 17,784.92 cr: GJEPC

India's overall gem and jewellery exports in November declined by 4.21 per cent to Rs 17,784.92 crore (USD 2,384 million) compared to the same month last year due to break in manufacturing activity during Diwali, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said on Tuesday.

The total exports during November 2020 stood at Rs 18,565.31 crore (USD 2,582.39 million), according to data by GJEPC.

The decline was expected due to a break in manufacturing activity during Diwali.

"India's gem and jewellery export performance through 2021 has been far ahead of our expectations this time last year. The good news is that the world's biggest jewellery consuming nation, the US, has increased purchases from India this year. We expect to achieve the export target of USD 41.65 billion this fiscal year," GJEPC chairman Colin Shah said.

He said in November there was a slight year-on-year decline in shipments mainly on account of break in manufacturing activity during Diwali.

GJEPC has recommended to the government a few policy reforms to consider in the Union Budget 2022-23, including the reduction of import duty on cut and polished diamonds, gold and other precious metals, and an amendment in taxation provisions to allow the sale of rough diamonds in the Special Notified Zones in Mumbai and Surat, which would help the industry to achieve its export target of USD 70 billion in the next few years, he added.

Meanwhile, the exports of cut and polished diamond (CPD) in November declined by 20.41 per cent to Rs 9,719.72 crore (USD 1,302.78 million) compared to Rs 12,212.79 crore (USD 1645.19 million) in the corresponding month last year.

However, the total export of gold jewellery grew by 38.24 per cent to Rs 5,286.23 crore in November compared to Rs 3,823.82 crore (USD 515.38 million) for the same period of previous year.

Provisional gross export of silver jewellery for the period April-November 2021 showed a growth of 20.47 per cent at Rs 12,552.39 crore (USD 1,691.86 million) against Rs 10,419.33 crore (USD 1,400.04 million) in the same period of previous year.

Provisional gross export of coloured gemstones for the period April-November period also witnessed a growth of 96.1 per cent at Rs 1,480.96 crore (USD 199.7 million) compared to Rs 755.2 crore (USD 101.56 million) in the same period of last year.