Gems and jewellery exporters have expressed fear that they may clock only 15 per cent export growth in 2010-11 due to uncertainty in the global markets even as the shipments grew 67.5 per cent in April-June.
"We are cautious about the export growth in the coming months due to weak global recovery. We expect 15 per cent export growth in 2010-11 year-on-year," Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Basant Mehta said.
Gems and jewellery exports were $28.41 billion in 2009-10, up 16 per cent over the previous fiscal.
In the first quarter of 2010-11, exports of the precious items grew by 67.5 per cent to $8.8 billion year-on-year, mainly due to the low base effect and increased demand from new markets like China and Singapore.
In wake of global economic slowdown, the exports in April-June 2009-10 had contracted by about 21 per cent. However, the pace of contraction slowed in the following months and the exports entered into positive territory in November 2009.
Now, the export growth in the remaining months would be calculated on higher base and hence the expansion may be lower, sources said.
The export growth rate has already slowed to 40.4 per cent in July 2010 from 74.2 per cent in the previous month.
Also, exports are likely to slowdown in the coming months as the developed countries may go for fiscal consolidation by partially rolling back the economic stimulus packages, sources said.
The gems and jewellery export industry, which is the number one contributor in the country's total merchandise exports, employs about 13 lakh people.
The UAE is the main destination for Indian gems and jewellery, accounting for 31 per cent of the total exports, followed by Hong Kong and the US.
