The gems and jewelry industry saw a plethora of activities taking place in the month of April. The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sponsored an industry event, “Meet and Greet with Varda Shine” in Mumbai on April 13. Shine, managing director of DTC, told the audience that the first three months of 2010 fared comparatively well against 2008 and 2009. She said that sales have jumped by 300 percent, adding that “In 2009, the U.S. market did slightly better than expected.”
According to Shine, India and China had double-digit growth of almost 16 percent to 17 percent. In discussing the rough diamond market in 2010, Shine said that India is in a good shape and is a good platform to do good business. “We have learned a lot in the last 18 months and 2010 is an engine to get closer to bigger markets,” she said. “2008 to 2009 was a year of decline but in 2010, we will change our goals and we will see good growth this year. We are aiming for around 25 percent growth in production from 2009 with 30 million to 32 million carats of production.”
Economic Issues
On the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) agenda on April 13 was a workshop on the Indian economy and the economic survey for 2009 to 2010. The workshop featured Dr. Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser to the government of India’s Ministry of Finance and Dr. H.A.C. Prasad, senior economic adviser to the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Basu said that throughout the global recession, 17 countries had 0 percent growth but India, with 6 percent growth, along with China and Indonesia, were the only three countries to show a positive growth rate.
Also in April, in addition to a number of GJEPC promotional events, the top industry players were mounting their own marketing campaigns. It is interesting to note that gold is driving the gems and jewelry export orders from India. According to the Investment Commission of India, gold exports are likely to grow to $25 billion by 2012.
Forging Partnerships
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) hosted the most recent edition of its popular workshop and networking event — Antwerp Diamond Day — on March 25 in a five-star hotel in Mumbai. The event was designed to introduce the most important players in the Indian diamond trade to their counterparts in Belgium. In his welcoming speech, Freddy Hanard, chief executive officer (CEO), AWDC, said, “There is no better way to do business than face-to-face and that is why we organize these diamond days. We have to reinvent ourselves and look at what our challenges in the future are. It is only then we can acquire businesses, market share or protect what we have.”
Adding to Hanard’s comments, Vasant Mehta, chairman, GJEPC, noted that “Merchandise exports from India to Belgium rose from $3.47 billion in the 2006 to 2007 period to $4.48 billion in 2008 to 2009. Of this total, the diamond industry contributed $1.59 billion in 2006 to 2007 and $1.56 billion in 2008 to 2009. While gems and jewelry account for 35 percent of India’s overall exports to Belgium, diamond imports from Belgium represent a 66 percent share of the overall exports of Belgium.” Mehta credited the diamond industry as being one of the crucial factors in strengthening Indo-Belgium trade ties.
At a March 26 press conference, Vijay Jain, CEO, Orra, shared his projections for industry growth. “Demand for diamond jewelry is improving worldwide and people in India are buying more diamonds these days as it is a good mode of investment,” he said. “The Indian diamond market is likely to grow at 20 percent over the next five years” to $22 billion, “whereas gold will grow at 8 percent to 10 percent year-on-year.”
Commenting on the current market dynamics, Jain added, “Any further strengthening of interest rates would benefit the rupee. Since we are dependent on imports for both gold and diamonds, a strengthening of the rupee would translate into a benefit to consumers in the form of rupee pricing.”
In other industry news, Nakshatra launched its new wedding collection — Nakshatra Vivaah — with a new campaign starring Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. Both the collection and the campaign are inspired by ancient Indian texts that described a diamond as vajra, meaning lightning, the weapon of the Indian deity Indra. It was believed to offer protection from fire, poison and evil spirits. The collection also draws from the Saptharishi Mandalam mythology, in which the wearer of the traditional seven-stone diamond floral formation, based on the geometry of the constellation, invokes divine luck.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2010. To subscribe click here.