Gem, jewellery exports seen up 5 times by 2007

With more and more jewellers opting for value addition by manufacturing low-cost and low-carat jewellery and the setting up of Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery in Mumbai, India's share in the $60 billion gems and jewellery export market may rise by at least five times over the next three years, said Sanjay Kothari, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), in Vadodara today.

Although India has a 60 per cent share of the diamonds processed worldwide, 85 per cent of the volume and 92 per cent of all pieces processed in the world, it has a minuscule share in the world's gems and jewellery export market.

The export market of finished and value-added gems and jewellery in the world is worth $60 billion, and is growing at around 20 per cent evey year. However, the share of Indian finished and value-added jewellery in this market is just about $1.5 billion.

"In the diamond market, India is the undoubted leader in volumes and value. And 11 out of every 12 diamonds cut and polished are done in India. But almost the entire volume of diamonds that are cut and polished mainly in Surat and Ahmedabad are exported back loose to other countries, who add value to these by studding them into jewellery," said Kothari. He, however, added that with more and more Indian units now adopting processes of value addition, this scenario is changing fast.

"In 1991, India's share was barely $304 million in the market. It has now risen to around $1.5 billion. The GJEPC expects India's share to go up to at least five times in the next three years or so," Kothari said.

He added that low-carat, low-cost diamond or coloured gemstones studded western style jewellery is quickly becoming more popular among Indian jewellers.

According to GJEPC officials, while units of Hong Kong specialise in diamond studded western style jewellery which has a huge export market in the US, Europe, Latin American countries and Middle East, units of Italy specialise in plain finely cut low carat gold jewellery.

Units in Thailand specialise in jewellery studded with coloured gemstones and these amount for a huge chunk of Thailand's overall exports.