Mumbai: India’s Gems and Jewellery (G&J) sector has shown signs of green shoots of exports after a long pandemic struggle of over 8 months. The November 2020 gross exports of Gems & Jewellery reported USD 2.48 Bn a mere 3.88 percent decline as compared to the gross exports of USD 2.58 Bn reported in November 2019.
Overall gross exports however this fiscal year since April to November 2020 has been reported USD 13.95 Bn, which has declined by over 44.37 percent as compared with USD 25.08 Bn gross exports reported the same period in April – November 2019.
Mr. Colin Shah, Chairman, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said, “The gems and jewellery exports have gained momentum, with exports recorded at USD 2.5 Bn for the last couple of months. Manufacturing is returned to almost 90% as rough diamond imports witnessed 69% growth in October. Considering the encouraging market demands and the current rate of growth, the sector is expected to record exports to pre Covid level numbers in the last quarter.”
“Prompt and proactive relief measures by Government during pandemic, focused initiatives by Council to further the trade through series of Virtual trading platforms such as IIJS Virtual, Virtual Buyer Seller Meets across products, India Global Connect and e – International gem and Jewellery show are helping revive and boost the trade”, added Mr. Colin Shah.
Mr. Vipul Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, said, “The fast recovery of the Indian gem and jewellery industry is due to a combination of many factors: the government implemented timely policy measures; central banks injected sufficient liquidity into the system; mining companies supported midstream segment; demand has picked up from major market, the US; and strong online sales have compensated for the weak performance of physical stores.”
Here is the exports data between April – November 2020 in the current fiscal:
Gem & Jewellery Gross Exports : April-November 2020
| Months | Gross Exports | Gross Exports | % Growth /Decline (Y-o-Y) |
| FY2019 US$bn | FY2020 US$bn | ||
| April | 2.99 | 0.04 | -98.79 |
| May | 3.30 | 1.06 | -67.79 |
| June | 3.09 | 1.65 | -46.66 |
| July | 3.05 | 1.51 | -50.41 |
| August | 3.05 | 1.78 | -41.65 |
| September | 3.42 | 2.51 | -26.45 |
| October | 3.61 | 2.92 | -19.02 |
| November | 2.58 | 2.48 | -3.88 |
| April to November | 25.08 | 13.95 | -44.37 |
Exports growth FY 2021 – forecasting
Exports – U Shaped
Gem & Jewellery Imports : April-November 2020
| Months | Gross Exports | Gross Exports | % Growth /Decline (Y-o-Y) |
| FY2019 US$bn | FY2020 US$bn | ||
| April | 2.26 | 0.01 | -99.6 |
| May | 1.90 | 1.90 | -83.33 |
| June | 1.93 | 0.59 | -69.36 |
| July | 2.09 | 0.55 | -73.73 |
| August | 1.79 | 0.89 | -50.33 |
| September | 2.10 | 1.91 | -8.81 |
| October | 1.74 | 1.96 | 12.41 |
| November | 2.16 | 1.42 | -34.44 |
Commodity wise Gross Exports– April – November 2020
| Commodities | April – November 2019 | April – November 2020 | % Growth/decline |
| (US$mn) | (US$mn) | (Y-o-Y) | |
| Cut & Pol Diamonds | 13,412.50 | 8,951.54 | -33.26 |
| Pol. Lab Grown Syn. Diamonds | 276.05 | 423.88 | 53.55 |
| Coloured Gemstones | 228.66 | 100.87 | -55.89 |
| Pol. Synthetic Stone | 0.71 | 0.62 | -13.28 |
| Gold Jewellery | 8,363.01 | 2,445.05 | -70.76 |
| Silver Jewellery | 869.62 | 1,400.13 | 61 |
| Platinum Jewellery | 5.90 | 6.37 | 8.02 |
| Imitation Jewellery | 41.84 | 28.13 | -32.75 |
| Articles of Gold, Silver & others | 337.30 | 71.70 | -78.74 |
| Others | 1,550.55 | 526.10 | -66.07 |
| Gross Exports | 25086.12 | 13954.39 | -44.37 |
| Return Consignment | 4,764.63 | 2,527.53 | -46.95 |
| Net Exports | 20,321.49 | 11,426.86 | -43.77 |
Commodity-wise Exports
Source : GJEPC Analysis based on Customs Data
Commodity wise Imports – April – November 2020
| Commodities | April – November 2019 | April – November 2020 | % Growth/decline |
| (US$mn) | (US$mn) | (Y-o-Y) | |
| Rough Diamonds | 8,553.96 | 5,015.85 | -41.36 |
| Rgh Lab Grown Diamonds | 205.01 | 301.77 | 47.2 |
| Rough Coloured Gemstones | 167.86 | 67.74 | -59.65 |
| Rough Synthetic Stone | 2.89 | 0.68 | -76.52 |
| Raw Pearls | 9.83 | 0.30 | -96.91 |
| Gold Bar | 5,287.89 | 456.18 | -91.37 |
| Silver Bar | 25.51 | 20.17 | -20.94 |
| Platinum Bar | 96.83 | 72.99 | -24.62 |
| Sub Total | 14349.78 | 5935.68 | -58.64 |
| Imports of Cut & Pol. Diamonds | 911.68 | 1,303.58 | 42.99 |
| Pol. Lab Grown Diamonds | 64.49 | 22.88 | -64.52 |
| Col. Gemstones | 396.78 | 211.35 | -46.73 |
| Pol. Synthetic Stone | 9.05 | 0.61 | -93.21 |
| Pearls worked | 4.82 | 1.09 | -77.45 |
| Gold Jewellery | 192.62 | 139.11 | -27.78 |
| Silver Jewellery | 40.05 | 13.27 | -66.87 |
| Imitation Jewellery | 0.89 | 1.13 | 27.27 |
| Others | 6.50 | 13.64 | 109.72 |
| Sub Total | 1626.88 | 1706.66 | 4.9 |
| Gross Imports | 15,976.66 | 7,642.33 | -52.17 |
Rough Diamond Imports
| Months | Gross Imports | Gross Imports | % Growth /Decline (Y-o-Y) |
| FY2019 US$bn | FY2020 US$bn | ||
| January | 0.86 | 0.76 | -11.02 |
| February | 1.38 | 1.47 | 6.34 |
| March | 1.41 | 0.64 | -54.93 |
| April | 1.44 | -100 | |
| May | 1.00 | 0.18 | -82.13 |
| June | 0.98 | 0.30 | -68.96 |
| July | 1.09 | 0.23 | -78.91 |
| August | 0.86 | 0.50 | -42.23 |
| September | 1.16 | 1.35 | 16.18 |
| October | 0.80 | 1.35 | 69.27 |
| November | 1.23 | 1.11 | -10.05 |
| April to November | 12.21 | 7.88 | -35.44 |
