Vipul Shah, Chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in India, told reporters that low demand from key markets could seriously hurt India’s gems and jewelry exports. In June, exports of polished diamonds were down by more than 31% year-on-year.
According to IDEX Online, Shah said: “We expect that overall we should see a 10 to 15 per cent decline in the gems and jewelry exports. For gems and jewelry, the major contributing market is the US and China, the demand is slowing there. Rising interest cost, inflation, all these concerns and consumers’ confidence is also going down.”
Another IDEX Online report about the industry’s woes claims that “half of India’s diamond workers are struggling financially as a global drop in demand forces factories to cut hours and wages.”
There are about 500,000 cutters and polishers in India, and they are paid either per carat – around $12 to $18 – or a per-piece basis. The problem is that many factories have reduced days which means many workers receive less pay.
Bhavesh Tank, leader of Diamond Worker Union, told Times of India: “This year, the summer vacation was extended up to 15 days in a few units which is not usual. But the market conditions did not improve. So, to further reduce production, the medium and small units are working five days a week and working hours have been reduced from 11 hours to six or seven hours.”
