Gems and jewellery exports declined marginally to $ 3.2 billion in January this year compared to the same period last year, owing to sluggish demand in western markets like the US and Europe.
In January last year, gems and jewellery exports stood at $ 3.3 billion, according to the data provided by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
“The demand for gems and jewellery exports has been less due to economic slowdown in traditional markets like America and Europe. Also, jewellery is a luxurious item and people don’t prefer buying it during such times,” the Council Chairman Vipul Shah said.
Major markets for the country’s gems and jewellery exports include Europe, the US, the UAE and Hong Kong.
In January this year, the items which reported a declined were gold medallions and coins that saw a drop of 11 per cent.
Cut and polished diamonds dropped by 7 per cent. Coloured gemstones grew 155.47 per cent and silver jewellery was up about 45 per cent.
As far as the 2012-13 fiscal is concerned, the Council expects gems and jewellery exports to decline by about 14 per cent year-on-year to $ 37 billion.
“Keeping in view the current trend, I think these exports would be around $ 37 billion at the end of this fiscal,” Shah said.
During April-January this fiscal, gems and jewellery exports declined 12 per cent to $ 30.9 billion compared to the same period last fiscal.
To create niche for India’s jewellery exports, Shah said exporters are also focusing on new markets like Latin America, Russia and Africa.
Gems and jewellery constitute 17 per cent of India’s total exports and the sector employs 1.5 million people.