Mumbai: The first India Australia Jewellery Buyer Seller Meet was inaugurated yesterday in Mumbai by the Vice Chairman of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Mr. Colin Shah. Ten Indian jewellery exporters will interact with a delegation from Australia, as well as a smaller delegation from Ireland over the next few days.
The format of the show includes pre-scheduled appointments of fixed duration between the 14 buyer companies and the ten exhibitors on the first two days and a tour of the SEEPZ jewellery factories on the third day. The delegations will also visit the IIJS on August 10, in addition to interacting with exhibitors at various other evening events held alongside over the next few days.
Welcoming all the participants, GJEPC Ed Mr. Sabyasachi Ray drew attention to the mutually beneficial ties between India and Australia due to the development of the Argyle mine. “Prior to Indian entrepreneurs developing the necessary skills, 75% of the Argyle mine production was classified as industrial goods. But with Indian expertise in smalls, the picture changed and over the last couple of decades, 75% of production from the mine could be transformed into gem quality stones that were used in jewellery worldwide.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Colin Shah briefly introduced the Indian jewellery industry to the visitors, saying that it was about 30 years since the country took its first steps into the export markets. In these few decades, Shah pointed out, India has become a significant force in the global arena and today is a bigger jewellery exporter than China and Thailand. He attributed India’s success to its ability to “produce a world class product, offer competitive prices and ensure on schedule deliveries”. The growth of the industry had been facilitated by different initiatives taken up by GJEPC, which ensured an enabling policy framework, international networking opportunities, global promotions as well as development of a skilled workforce.
The Vice Chairman emphasised that building ties with manufacturers in Mumbai would provide a boost to any jeweller across the world as the city was the hub for the diamond trade and had a large number of jewellery manufacturers with experience in creating jewellery in sync with global tastes.
Coordinator of the BSM, Jeremy Weight introduced all the buyers from the delegations and thanked the GJEPC for providing them this opportunity. He said that the delegation comprised a mix of retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and importers from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide as well as those from different parts of South Ireland, and expressed the hope that this platform would help ties between the industries of these countries to blossom.
