New Delhi- The overall gem and jewellery exports in December declined 11.25 per cent to Rs 19,432.88 crores (USD 2,356.70 million) due to rising prices, affecting the cost of living and talks of a downturn in the US, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said on Tuesday. During December 2021, the overall gems and jewellery exports stood at Rs 21,896.46 crores (USD 2,905.79 million), GJEPC said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the total exports during April-December 2022 witnessed a growth of 6.28 per cent to Rs 2,27,534.50 crore compared to Rs 2,14,087.94 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
However, in terms of the US dollar, there was a marginal decline of 0.73 per cent during April-December to USD 28,608.22 million compared to USD 28,819.88 million a year ago.
“The overall exports of gem and jewellery during April-December 2022 show a positive trend but December export figures reflect the global headwinds faced by the industry in terms of inflation and talk of a downturn in the USA. However, it is to the credit and enterprise of the Indian exporters that they have been able to perform even in this challenging scenario,” GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah said.
He said the commissioning of India-UAE CEPA has resulted in exponential growth in exports of plain gold jewellery to make up for the gap in exports to key markets, such as the US and Hong Kong.
“Overall exports for 9M FY23 show positive growth of 6.28 per cent in rupee terms. Plain gold jewellery exports have witnessed positive double-digit exports growth of around 21 per cent in both December 2022 as well as the 9M FY23 period,” Shah added.
In December 2022, the overall gross export of cut and polished diamonds declined 21.50 per cent to Rs 10,472.92 crore (USD 1,270.36 million) compared to Rs 13,341.66 crore (USD 1,770.61 million) in December 2021.
The Ukraine-Russia conflict has started to affect the CPD exports, which fell 40 per cent, mainly due to a decline in rough diamond import from Russia in six months from March 2022, the council said.
The diminishing imports in the first six months of this fiscal year have resulted in the overall decline in CPD and overall gem and jewellery exports in December, it added.
The zero Covid policy and the recent withdrawal of the same have also negatively affected the consumer demand for diamond jewellery in China, it added. (PTI)