The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has released the overall exports of the Indian gem and jewelry industry for fiscal 2017-18. According to Gem Konnect, these stood at $40.97 billion – a 5.06% drop over fiscal 2016-17.
On the bright side, there was a 4.17% growth in the loose cut and polished diamond segment, which totaled $23.73 billion. In volume terms, exports of that segment totaled 34.86 million carats, compared with 32.21 million carats in fiscal 2016-17. Gold jewelry exports grew 10.91% to $9.67 billion, while exports of silver jewelry dropped 15.8% to $3.39 billion. Coloured gemstone exports were up 3.14% to $433.31 million.
Imports of rough diamonds were up 10.59% to $18.89 billion. Import of cut and polished diamonds dropped 15.08% to $2.24 billion. Net imports of gems and jewelry grew 9.69% to $31.52 billion.
The largest export destination for the industry was Hong Kong, then the UAE and the US.
GJEPC Chairman Pramod Agarwal said: “The gem and jewellery sector today contribute nearly 7% to India’s GDP and over 15% to the country’s merchandise exports. India has become the undisputed world leader in cut and polished diamond exports, polishing nearly a billion stones each year and employing over 5 million people […] the gems and jewellery sector is likely to grow at a rapid pace and the GJEPC intends to add 3 million more people to the workforce by 2022”.
