India's gold jewellery exports nosedived 70 per cent year-on-year to USD 441.41 million in July on account of shortage of precious metal and limited inventory in domestic market.
In July last year, the exports stood at USD 1.5 billion, according to the data provided by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
"The drastic fall in exports of gold jewellery is mainly due to shortage of raw-material for jewellery manufacturing. This was because the government had taken steps to curb gold imports," GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah told PTI.
Gold medallions and coins exports have also witnessed a sharp decline of 63.3 per cent to USD 112.83 million in July 2013 compared to a year-ago period.
However, silver jewellery exports saw a robust jump of 184 per cent to USD 109 million during the period under review.
The country's total gems and jewellery exports fell about 17 per cent to USD 2.49 billion, the council said.
India is the largest importer of gold, which is mainly utilised to meet demand of the jewellery industry.
The major markets for the country's jewellery exports are the US, Europe, Middle-East, Hong Kong and Japan.
During April-July 2013, the gems and jewellery exports declined 14.3 per cent year-on-year to USD 11 billion.
On July 13, customs duty on gold, silver and platinum was hiked to 10 per cent.
This was the third time that the government has raised the duty on gold this year with a view to containing its non-essential imports, mainly responsible for spurt in Current Account Deficit (CAD) which touched at a record high of 4.8 per cent in 2012-13.
