Gem and jewellery exports dipped two per cent in May to $2.05 billion against $2.10 billion in the same period last year, largely due to shortage of gold availability and growing uncertainty over the ongoing war between the US and Iran.
In rupee terms, it was up 9 per cent to ₹19,574 crore (₹17,896 crore a year ago) due to the depreciation of the rupee against dollar.
The overall imports declined 16 per cent to $1.41 billion ($1.69 billion) and in rupee terms, it was down 6 per cent at ₹13,500 crore (₹14,406 crore).
After prolonged sluggishness, export of cut and polished diamonds increased 3 per cent to $981 million ($949 million) Export of Polished Lab Grown Diamonds exports jumped 26 per cent at $101 million ($81 million).The gold jewellery dipped 15 per cent at $758 million ($890 million).
Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC, said one of the key reasons for the decline in exports has been the tightening in gold imports, which has affected the availability of gold for export manufacturing.
The impact is evident in gold consumption for export production, which declined 21 per cent to 11 tonnes during April–May this year against 14 tonnes logged in same period last year, he said.
Export trend in FY’27
In two-months o f this fiscal, gem and jewellery exports declined 6 per cent to $4.27 billion ($4.55 billion) while in rupee terms it dipped 4 per cent to ₹40,399 crore (₹38,848 crore).
The import of gems and jewellery was down 13 per cent at $3.25 billion ($3.72 billion).
The decline was primarily driven by a sharp contraction in plain gold jewellery exports, which fell 40 per cent year-on-year to $636 million ($1.06 billion). The sector has been facing challenges arising from elevated gold prices, limited availability of gold for export production and regulatory bottlenecks affecting the supply of gold through banking channels.
Strengthening exports is critical to supporting India’s balance of payments position and addressing the current account deficit, said Bhansali.
“We have also noted with concern that gold availability from banks has been affected due to certain regulatory bottlenecks, creating additional challenges for exporters. These issues have been further compounded by a sharp rise in gold prices,” he added.
Further, the increase in gold import duty from 6 per cent to 15 per cent has significantly raised the landed cost of gold. While exporters continue to bear the burden of higher input costs, the Duty Drawback rates have not been revised accordingly, adversely affecting the competitiveness and margins of jewellery exporters, said GJEPC.
The export industry is presently facing a serious liquidity and raw material availability crunch.
Commenting on the performance of Indian gems & jewellery sector, Colin Shah, MD, Kama Jewelry, said, “While there are some signs of revival of Indian overseas trade of gems and jewellery, given the progress of an amicable truce between the countries at conflict, gems and jewellery exports are largely expected to remain impacted, although the intensity may reduce over a period of time until absolute stabilisation.”
The new FTAs will serve as an opportunity amid distress and will enable traders to pivot to newer markets in order to ensure businesses remain on track.”