The first six months of fiscal 2015-16 were a dampener for India’s gem and jewellery exports. The total gem and jewellery exports in this period dropped 5.59 percent on y-o-y basis to US$ 19.22 billion, reports say. There was a 13.81 percent drop in the country’s cut and polished diamond exports which valued US$ 10.42 billion from $ 12.09 billion in the same period last year, as per reports. Rough diamond imports dipped 26 percent to US$ 6.95 billion.

September too recorded a drop in performance, as overall gem and jewellery exports dipped 21.26 percent to US$ 3.52 billion, as per reports. There was a 47.55 percent drop in the country’s gem and jewellery imports in September, valuing to US$ 1.7 billion.

Cut and polished diamond exports dipped from US$ 2.67 billion in September last year to US$ 1.92 billion. The said exports dropped 9 percent in volume terms to 9 percent to 3.30 million carats. Cut and polished diamond imports slipped from US$ 1096.74 million in September last year to US$ 234.83 million in the current year.

Facing a 26 percent drop, imports of rough diamonds in September valued US$ 1.05 billion. The volume of rough diamond imports dropped 4.8 percent to 12.34 million carats.

Gold jewellery exports (plain and studded) dropped 44.93 percent but exports of gold coins and medallions improved from US$ 120.78 million last year to US$ 508.81 million, as per reports. Silver jewellery exports also rose 11.15 percent in September this year. Coloured gemstones reflected a flat growth with total exports at US$ 68.78 million from US$ 67.65 million in September last year, as per reports. The slow performance was attributed to the weak consumer demand caused by economic uncertainities in major markets.