Gems, jewellery exports drop 20 pc to Rs 20,763 cr in Feb

India's gems and jewellery exports declined by 20.26 per cent to Rs 20,763.28 crore in February, hit by the global outbreak of Covid-19, credit crunch and customs issues, according to industry body GJEPC.

Gems and jewellery exports stood at Rs 26,039.32 crore in February 2019, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said.

"The fall in gems and jewellery exports has been happening over some time due to the global economic slowdown coupled with the industry struggling with credit crunch and customs issues. Now the global outbreak of Covid-19 has added to the existing issues," GJEPC Vice Chairman Colin Shah told PTI here.

The overall exports declined by 6.38 per cent to Rs 2,36,839.34 crore during April 2019 to February 2020, compared to Rs 2,52,973.24 crore during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, shipments of cut and polished diamonds (CPD) in February fell by 40.66 per cent to Rs 9,897.14 crore, compared to Rs 16,679.94 crore in the same month last year.

CPD exports during April 2019 to February 2020 declined by 18.71 per cent to Rs 1,24,880.11 crore, from Rs 1,53,621.64 crore registered during April 2018 to February 2019.

However, gold jewellery exports in February went up by 28.26 per cent to Rs 8,106.96 crore from Rs 6,320.88 crore in the same month of 2019.

Gold jewellery exports from April 2019 to February 2020 grew by 7.27 per cent to Rs 80,088.38 crore, from Rs 74,661.63 crore earlier.

Silver jewellery exports during April 2019 to February 2020 also jumped 91.57 per cent to Rs 10,342.17 crore from Rs 5,398.61 crore in April 2018 to February 2019.

Coloured gemstone exports in April 2019 to February 2020 declined by 16.20 per cent to Rs 2,171.87 crore, from Rs 2,591.59 crore earlier.

Meanwhile, the overall gems and jewellery imports during April 2019 to February 2020 declined by 3.33 per cent to USD 23.03 billion, from USD 23.83 billion registered during April 2018 to February 2019.

The overall gross import of rough diamonds during April 2019 to February 2020 showed a decline 13.43 per cent to USD 12.39 billion from USD 14.31 billion earlier.