Buoyed by the recovery in the Chinese and West Asian markets, gem and jewellery exports from India surged 24 per cent last month to ₹28,833 crore, against ₹23,327 crore in the same period last year.
Cut-and-polished diamond shipments jumped 32 per cent to ₹19,582 crore (₹14,842 crore) while gold jewellery shipments increased 30 per cent to ₹5,830 crore (₹4,488 crore).
Vipul Shah, Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said the strong recovery in cut-and-polished diamond exports can partially be attributed to the demand from China and the Lunar New Year festivities. Moreover, there was 45 per cent increase in plain gold jewellery exports following the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed with the UAE, which signals that the West Asian market is rebounding strongly after a slight dip. Furthermore, studded gold jewellery, which is primarily exported to the US, also improved by about 20 per cent, he said.
The Hong Kong market had experienced a negative trend in the last few months, but is seeing a rebound. The average savings rate in China is about 40 per cent, which translates to trillions of dollars that could potentially be spent in a “revenge buying” frenzy seen in other world markets after prolonged Covid lockdown. This could lead to significant growth in diamond and diamond jewellery exports over the next six months, he said.
Polished lab-grown diamond exports grew 18 per cent to ₹1,117 crore (₹945 crore) while export of coloured gemstones more than doubled to ₹452 crore (₹209 crore).
However, silver jewellery declined 43 per cent to ₹1,126 crore (₹1,971 crore) while platinum jewellery slipped 38 per cent to ₹9 crore (₹14 crore).
Yearly trend
Gem and jewellery exports in the first 11 months of this fiscal were up five per cent at ₹2.79 lakh crore (₹2.65 lakh crore). The cut-and-polished diamond exports declined marginally by 0.22 per cent to ₹1.63 lakh crore (₹1.64 lakh crore). Gold jewellery exports grew 12 per cent to ₹69,866 crore (₹62,528 crore).