The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said exports declined five per cent last month to $2.04 billion compared with $2.13 billion in the same period a year ago, due to escalating geopolitical tensions and the recently introduced Trump-era tariffs.
On the other hand, the overall imports of gems and jewellery declined to $1.57 billion against $1.90 billion a year ago.
Cut and polished diamond exports dipped 6 per cent to $1.11 billion ($1.18 billion). Major consumer markets including the US and China are witnessing a slowdown in demand as people are increasingly opting to invest in gold as a safe haven during times of uncertainty leading to a decline in Indian diamond exports. Parallelly, the growing demand for lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are also posing a major hurdle for the natural counterpart.
Imports down
Similarly, the overall gross imports of cut and polished diamonds saw a decline of 46 per cent in April to $48 million ($88 million). Rough diamond imports were up marginally at $1.20 billion ($1.19 billion).
Polished LGDs export edged up to $111 million ($110 million) due to steady increase in demand among youngsters.
Gold jewellery declined 5 per cent to $685 million due to steady rise in prices owing to geopolitical scenarios and economic instability. Coloured gemstones shipments were up 12 per cent at $28 million.
Colin Shah, MD, Kama Jewelry, said besides the US tariff war shaking the global economy, the prolonged geopolitical tensions in West Asia and Russia-Ukraine conflict deterred consumer sentiments.
The US-China trade war continues to spread a wave of uncertainty across the globe, he added.
Going forward, he said trade activities are expected to gain momentum following recent talks between the world’s two major markets — the US and China — on tariffs, which are likely to ease the situation in the coming months.