Under the new industry policy programme, South Africa is encouraging jewellery manufacturing activities that will help add value to its raw materials including gold, silver and a variety of minerals.
"Although India produces only less than one per cent of the global gold production, it is involved in more than 60 per cent of the value additional activities of the yellow metal. This is something that the entire world, including South Africa, would like to learn from India," said France Morule, High Commissioner of South Africa in India at an event here.
"I invite the Indian jewellery industry to set up manufacturing operations in South Africa and take advantage of its policies both at the domestic level as well as overseas including special privileges it enjoys from the US and the European Union," Morule said at the Assocham event on gold.
South Africa enjoys favoured nation status with the US via the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) 2002, which allows South African gold jewellery fabricators to export their finished product to the US free of import duties.
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"The predominance of the US as an importer of manufactured jewellery is partly a function of South Africa benefiting from AGOA status with that country," he said, adding that Indian companies can take advantage of these opportunities.
Morule further said that a free trade agreement between South Africa and the European Union is being developed through the gradual abolition of import and export tariffs from 20 per cent in 2003 to zero by 2020 between two trading partners.
Urging Indian companies to take advantage of these opportunities, Morule said that India has the ability to create capacity building programmes in South Africa to impart skills which will develop and enhance the local jewellery industry.
"We are aware that some of you are already present in South Africa and we would like to invite more companies from India to follow suit. This will strengthen the already excellent relations between the two countries," he added.