Gems and jewellery exports dipped by 17.69% in March to Rs 22,755.81 crore due to 2% import duty on polished diamonds, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said today.
Exports in March, 2011 stood at Rs 27,649.18 crore.
In FY12, there was a marginal rise in exports of about 4.64% to Rs 2,04,823.66 crore compared to Rs 1,95,735.84 crore in the previous fiscal, GJEPC Chairman Rajiv Jain told reporters today.
The exports of cut and polished diamonds was down by 13.64% to Rs 1,10,978.84 crore 2011-12 compared to Rs 1,28,514.06 crore in the previous fiscal.
Growth in the sector was mainly driven by gold jewellery, which registered a growth of 10.04%, he said.
Coloured gemstone exports witnessed an increase of 15.40% to Rs 1,653.13 crore compared to Rs 1,432.54 crore.
Going forward, he said, the sector is likely to witness 10-15% growth in gold and other jewellery.
"But in diamond jewellery we have to revisit our earlier estimate of 10% as trading has come down by 30% due to the 2% import duty on polished diamonds. We will give our revised estimates after discussing it with the diamond panel," he added.
Talking about rough diamond price, Jain said, that prices are likely to remain steady till September as goods from Zimbabwe have started coming in. Prices have gone up by 30% from last year as imports from Zimbabwe were banned.
The Council is also exploring new markets like Africa, Russia and is participating in exhibitions to establish markets, Jain said.
GJEPC will participate in 12 international exhibitions this year.
UAE, Hong Kong and US are the main jewellery importing destinations for India.