GJEPC Announces Financial Year Results

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council released the annual performance figures of the gems and jewellery industry for the financial year 2011-2012 at a press conference in Mumbai.

Overall exports for the sector saw a marginal decline of 0.36% from US$ 42995 million in the previous financial year to US$ 42839 for FY 2011-12. This fall came mainly as a result of the dip of 17.3% in the exports of cut & polished diamonds from US$ 28217 million achieved in 2010-11 to US$ 23329 million reached in 2011-12.

Gold jewellery exports, however, saw a healthy growth of 30% rising from US$ 12695 million in FY 2010-2011 to US$ 16517 million in the year under consideration.

Coloured gemstone exports registered a small rise of 9.10%, registering exports of US$ 342.80 million in 2011-2012 as against the US$ 314.20 million recorded in 2010-2011.

GJEPC chairman Rajiv Jain, speaking at the press conference pointed out that though exports of the overall sector as well as the cut and polished segment had declined, net manufacturing exports had actually increased, in FY 2011-12. In terms of the total gems and jewellery sector, net manufacturing exports increased by 28.30% while for the cut and polished sector manufacturing exports increased by 20.87%. This reflected a better balance of trade position, Jain concluded.

"We are happy that in keeping with the government’s objective of reducing the trade deficit, imports of cut and polished diamonds have dipped post the introduction of a 2% import duty on cut & polished diamonds in Mid-January 2012,” said Jain. “The increase in import figures of rough diamonds indicates stable growth of trade at the manufacturing level and growth in exports."