Jewellery exports up 4 %

Exports of jewellery from India, the world's largest producer, rose 4 per cent in the ten months ended January as overseas shipments of gold ornaments surged.

Exports reached $13.5 billion, compared with $13 billion a year earlier, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council said. Gold jewellery exports rose 37 per cent to $4.3 billion from $3.14 billion, gemstone sales gained 4 per cent to $203 million, while diamond sales fell 9 per cent to $8.8 billion, it said.

India's share of the diamond processing industry will drop to 49 per cent from 57 per cent while China will begin to control 21.3 per cent of the market by 2015, according to a joint report by the council and KPMG India.