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India’s Gems, Jewelry Export Growth to be Flat This Year
Oct 12, 2012 8:17 AM
By Dilipp S Nag
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RAPAPORT... India’s gems and jewelry export growth is likely to be flat this year, given the current global economic environment. As a result of this trend, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) plans to promote diamonds across India and China and expand into new markets to boost growth. The country exported gems and jewelry worth $42.84 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2012.
“We feel that the growth will be very much flattish this year because of the current economic situation globally. There is euro zone crisis,” said Vipul Shah, the newly elected chairman of the GJEPC. “It will take some time to pick up...we are looking for the positive Christmas season in the U.S. and hopefully things will start looking better from there on.”
Shah stated that, globally, gems and jewelry are experiencing a slow patch, while volatile gold prices, reduced media spending and the absence of diamond jewelry promotions have limited the growth of this industry in recent years. To improve business, the GJEPC is planning a sustained marketing campaign that targets consumer confidence and drives consumer desire to own diamonds in India and China.
India's Ministry of Commerce & Industry has approved the GJEPC’s growth proposals under its 12th five-year plan, said Shah (pictured second from left). The proposals include the establishment of a convention center in Mumbai, a common facility center at Gujarat, gem bourse in Jaipur, a gem and jewelry business park in Mumbai, technology up-grades and a gem and jewelry training center in Domjur, Kolkata.
The proposed expenditures for these plans come to about $226.7 million (INR 11.94 billion) for the period through 2017. There are also plans to set performance standards for the council's institutes and laboratories.
“To increase the confidence of the consumers we are coming up with the standardization of the labs. With the help of ministry, industry and all the laboratories together we might be successful in ensuring that the bottom lines are same for each lab and there are no discrepancies,” said Pankaj Parekh (pictured on left of the photo), GJEPC’s new vice chairman.
Sanjay Kothari (pictured third from left), GJEPC’s convener, noted that the council has formed a committee along with the established laboratories and GJF to create a solution in the next few months.
To bolster business, GJEPC is also looking to focus on markets such as Australia and Bangladesh to promote India goods through buyer-seller matching programs or trade delegations. The council will host the Indo-Russia Jewellery Summit 2012 from October 28 to 31, 2012 in Mumbai. The summit will see participation from 15 Indian companies and 12 established buyers with retail turnover in the range of $4 million to $300 million from Russia/CIS countries.
GJEPC is also participating at the Jewellery Arabia in Bahrain from October 16 to 20, and exploring the possibility of participating in the proposed India Show at Dhaka in Bangladesh from December 3 to 5. In addition, the council plans to organize an Indo-Australian jewelry buyer and seller gathering in May 2013 in Sydney and Melbourne with the aim to establish relationships with leading jewelry chains and buying groups, and participate in several international shows in 2013.
The council has scheduled the sixth edition of the Signature 2013 from February 22 to 25 in Mumbai. It also has plans to hold the India International Jewellery Week (IIJW) in other metropolitan areas across India.
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Tags:
diamonds, Dilipp S Nag, export, gem, GJEPC, India, Jewelry, Pankaj Parekh, Rapaport, Vipul Shah
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