India’s overall exports from the gem and jewellery sector during the month of October registered a year-on-year decline of 22.36% to US$ 3.23 billion, as polished diamond exports slipped by 23.33% to US$ 1.93 billion, according to provisional data released by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
The drop would be due, in large measure, to the change in the dates of the Diwali festival when cutting and polishing units are shut. The festival, which was celebrated in November last year, fell in October this year.
Exports of cut and polished diamonds from India during the month fell from US$ 2.52 billion last year to US$ 1.93 bn this year, a decline y-o-y of 22.33%. Rough imports during the month at US$ 806 million were down by 35.7% in value terms compared to US$ 1.26 bn imported during the previous October. In volume terms, 9.44 mn carats of rough were imported during the month, down 16.4% over the imports of 11.29 mn carats during October ‘16.
Imports of cut and polished diamonds dropped by 29.86% to US$ 137.54 million in October 2017 from US$ 196.09 million a year earlier.
Exports of gold jewellery (both studded and plain), during the month rose by 13.07% to US$ 900.73 million from US$ 796.6 mn a year earlier. Exports of silver jewellery rose to US$ 279.32 million in October 2017 as compared to US$ 190.58 million in the same month last year.
Coloured gemstone exports dipped in October 2017 to US$ 20.25 million as compared to US$ 24.60 million exported during the same month a year earlier.
For the first seven months of the fiscal year 2017-18, overall gem and jewellery exports now stand at US$ 24.32 billion, a decline of 7.42% as compared to US$ 26.27 bn last year.
Polished diamond exports during this period were down 2.76% to US$ 13.83 bn as against the US$ 14.22 bn exported in the same period last year, while exports of gold jewellery (both plain and studded) dipped by 11.32% to US$ 4.95 bn as against US$ 5.58 bn during the first seven months of the previous ficoa.
During the fiscal year to date, import of rough diamonds declined by a marginal 1.51% to US$ 9.97 bn from US$ 10.12 bn a year earlier. In volume terms, imports rose by 26.24% from 84.36 mn cts in April-Oct ’16 to 106.5 mn cts in the same period this year.
Exports of synthetic stones during April-October 2017 were US$ 120.71 mn, with synthetic diamonds (HS 71049010) accounting for around US$ 77.21 mn (as compared to US$ 64.86 mn during the comparative period a year earlier). These were from Surat SEZ.
Exports of gold medallions & coins declined by 47.15% to US$ 1.66 billion in the seven month period, while silver jewellery exports rose by 26.37% to US$ 2.66 billion, and Coloured Gemstones exports displayed a marginal decline of 1.5% at US$ 232.85 million in April-October ’17.
News Source: gjepc.org
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and TJM Media Pvt Ltd. is not responsible for any errors in the same.
