Gems, jewellery exports fall 12.29% in August

Mumbai: The overall gems and jewellery exports declined by 12.29 per cent in August to Rs 20,242.20 crore due to decline in manufacturing following liquidity crunch in the market.

The exports during August 2018 stood at Rs 23,077.26 crore, according to data given by Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

"The industry which took 50 years to build its global leadership is today in a state of turmoil. This is due to the unfavourable perception of bankers and the government about trade due to the wrong doings of a few," GJEPC Vice-Chairman Colin Shah said.

The gems and jewellery shipments during April to August witnessed 6.42 per cent to Rs 1,06,902.23 crore compared to Rs 1,14,236.15 crore during the same period last year.

Cut and polished diamonds (CPD) exports in August declined by 23.10 per cent to Rs 11,656.97 crore compared to Rs 15,158.69 crore in August 2018.

The CPD exports from April-August dipped by 16.78 per cent to Rs 58,177.52 crore from Rs 69,906.76 crore during April-August 2018. Shah said to be globally competitive the industry urgently need a reduction in duty on gold and polished diamonds.

"We also urgently need ease of doing business on the GST and customs side," he added.

The industry also needs a progressive SEZ policy which allows companies to invest and thrive with a stable set of rules on DTA sale and property transfer with an e-commerce policy, he said.

"The more time we take, greater is our loss to countries like Thailand and Vietnam. We cannot possibly be world leaders in exports with such a high duty structure and taxation regime.

We have represented the concerns and are optimistic that we will get some respite soon. Specially since we are a huge foreign exchange earner and employment generator for the country," Shah added.