The exports of gems and jewellery grew by 11% to $14.43 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal, as per data compiled by Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). This growth in exports is driven largely by demand in India’s major markets like the US. The export from the sector stood at $13 billion in April-August period of the last fiscal.
Gems and jewellery contribute about 14 percent to the country’s overall exports. The rise in April-August period was mainly supported by exports of cut and polished diamond. It rose to $9.19 billion during April-August 2016-17 from $8.64 billion a year ago. Exports of silver jewellery grew 52.6 percent to $1.67 billion during the five months period of this financial year.
Further, imports of rough diamonds grew by 19.37 percent to $7 billion in April-August 2016. Imports of gold bars too grew 34.51 percent to $1.98 billion.