The Hindu Business Line : Gems and jewellery exports up 31 pc at $11.9 b

EXPORTS of gem and jewellery for 2003-04 have peaked at $11.9 billion, up 31 per cent from $9.1 billion in 2002-03. In rupee terms, this means that the country's export earnings from this segment — 17 per cent last year — stood at well over Rs 53,000 crore.

The last two months of the fiscal came good with earnings to the tune of over $ 2.8 billion as the export earnings from the first 10 months had stood at $9.03 billion.

Talking to Business Line, Mr Sanjay Kothari, Chairman, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said this was well in excess of the targeted figure of around $10 billion and the significant growth had materialised despite the rupee getting stronger. While, the growth was significant in terms of sheer volumes, more noteworthy was the spurt in the value-added jewellery segment, he said.

``In dollar terms, this is a 31 per cent growth while in rupee terms it has grown at 24 per cent. The growth was multi-faceted as the exports of cut and polished diamonds grew to $8.6 billion from $7.2 billion in the last fiscal. Even more spectacular was the growth of jewellery, which grew by some 67 per cent, from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion this year. We are quite sure of exceeding our projected exports for 2006-07 at $16 billion, one-third of which, is likely to come from the value-added segment,'' Mr Kothari said.

The impetus for growth in this segment would be much stronger if the proposed 20-lakh sq metre gem and jewellery park in Surat, which proposed to turn India into a diamond value-addition hub got commissioned within the next two to three years, he said.

In Surat, many units were graduating from small stones to the larger ones and this augured well for the future, he said. Currently, India accounts for 60 per cent of the global supply of diamonds in value terms, 85per cent in caratage and 92 per cent in numbers. Surely, the Surat diamond industry may not mind too much if the last figures were seen to climb down.

More Stories on : Gems & Jewellery | Exports & Imports

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page