Gems and jewellery exports dip 22% in April

India's gems and jewellery exports have declined 22 per cent to USD 2.6 billion in April on account of demand slowdown in major markets including the UAE.

Exports in April 2017 stood at USD 3.31 billion, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India said.

Major export destinations for the sector include Hong Kong, the UAE and the US. The three countries account for over 80 per cent of the country's total exports of gems and jewellery.

GJEPC vice chairman Colin Shah recently said the US is the largest consumer of diamonds and jewellery globally and the region is showing an upward trend.

Gems and jewellery contribute nearly 7 per cent to the country's GDP and over 15 per cent to the merchandise exports.

The drop in outbound shipments in April is mainly due to negative growth in the export of silver jewellery, gold medallions and coins along with a sharp rise in the return of consignments.

The industry has asked for support in terms of increasing incentives under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) to boost shipments.

As per the data, silver jewellery shipments in April slumped 95.5 per cent to USD 34.19 million.

Similarly, export of gold medallions and coins contracted by 87.6 per cent during the month under review.

However, total gold jewellery shipments went up 49 per cent to USD 913 million during the period.

Shipments of cut and polished diamonds too grew 14 per cent in April.

During the month, consignments worth USD 545.3 million were returned compared with USD 533 million in April 2017.

On the other hand, imports contracted by 24 per cent in April to USD 2.35 billion.

Imports of rough diamonds dipped by about 13 per cent during the month.

China is the biggest competitor of India in the sector. India's gems and jewellery exports contracted by 8 per cent to about USD 32.72 billion in 2017-18.

Gems and jewellery industry has urged bankers not to reduce their current credit limits as this would hamper and erode exports and employment creation.