Gems & jewellery exports rise 11% during April-May

NEW DELHI: India's gems and jewellery exports rose by over 11 per cent to $6.78 billion during the first two months of the current fiscal, largely driven by demand in major markets like the US.

In April-May last year, the sector's exports aggregated to $6.1 billion, according to the data from Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

The labour intensive gems and jewellery sector contribute about 14 per cent to the country's overall exports.

The rise in shipments was mainly supported by exports of silver jewellery, and gold medallions and coins.

Silver exports more than doubled to $1.51 billion during April-May 2017 from $674.14 million a year ago.

Similarly, shipments of gold medallions and coins registered a growth of about 50 per cent to $1 billion during the period under review.

Exports of cut and polished diamonds, coloured gem stones and rough diamonds also reported positive growth.

India's main export destinations include Europe, Japan, China and the US.

However, shipments of gold jewellery contracted 35.6 per cent to $542.15 million during April-May 2017.

According to the GJEPC data, imports of rough diamonds rose by about 6 per cent to $3.60 billion in April-May 2017.

Imports of gold bars, however, dipped by about 67.28 per cent to $300.22 million.