Gems and jewellery exports dip 1.21% in FY14.

Gems and jewellery exports fell by a marginal 1.21% to R2.10 lakh crore in 2013-14 due to sluggish shipment of gold ornaments, medallion and coins, industry body GJEPC said.

India had exported R2.12 lakh crore worth of gems and jewellery in the previous year. "We could not export much of the gold jewellery in 2013-14 because of the government curbs on gold imports." Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Vipul Shah said. He added that GJEPC has sought relaxation in gold import duty to ensure adequate supply of the metal and help meet export demands for jewellery, he said.

To check the high current account deficit, the government had hiked import duty on gold to 10% and made it mandatory for traders to export 20% of the imported gold.

According to the latest data of GJEPC, gold jewellery exports fell to R47,716 crore in 2013-14 from R71,295 crore in the year-ago period. Similarly, shipments of gold medallion and coins fell to R19,203 crore from R28,490 crore, exports of coloured gems\stones declined marginally to R3,136 crore from R3,543 crore in the review period. Exports of cut and polished diamonds improved to R1.18 lakh crore in 2013-14 as against R94,741 crore in the previous year. Silver jewellery exports rose to R8,798 crore from R5,028 crore.

Source : financialexpress.com