New Delhi: South Africa has invited Indian companies to invest in jewellery manufacturing units in the country by taking advantage of its latest policies, reports ETRetail.com.

Under the new industry policy programme, South Africa is encouraging jewellery manufacturing activities that will help add value to its raw materials including gold, silver and a variety of minerals.

At the event organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham) in New Delhi recently, France Morule, High Commissioner of South Africa in India said, “Although India produces only less than one per cent of the global gold production, it is involved in more than 60 per cent of the value additional activities of the yellow metal. This is something that the entire world, including South Africa, would like to learn from India.”

South Africa, which mined 150 tonnes of gold last year, has brought various schemes to support value addition including gold loan scheme for emerging and establishing jewellery makers, he said. “I invite the Indian jewellery industry to set up manufacturing operations in South Africa and take advantage of its policies both at the domestic level as well as overseas including special privileges it enjoys from the US and the European Union,” Morule said at the Assocham event on gold.

South Africa enjoys favoured nation status with the US, which allows South African gold jewellery fabricators to export their finished product to the US free of import duties. Also, a free trade agreement between South Africa and the European Union is being developed through the gradual abolition of import and export tariffs from 20 per cent in 2003 to zero by 2020. “This implies that the country will be able to export local gold jewellery duty free into Europe. We are aware that some of you are already present in South Africa and we would like to invite more companies from India to follow suit. This will strengthen the already excellent relations between the two countries,” he added.