Gems & jewellery sector hunts for new venues

March 14, 2009

Commodity Online
SURAT/MUMBAI: Hit hard by the recession, India’s gems and jewellery sector is trying to wriggle out of the crisis by expanding its market in several other countries.

Till now India’s gems and jewellery sector has been depending on the US and European nations for exporting its stuff. But, the recession-hit US and Europe are not in a position to buy the material from India.

So, Indian exporters have to find new markets across the globe to survive.

In Surat alone several diamond cutting units have closed down due to lack of demand from the US.

Lakhs of people lost jobs in Surat alone. So, traders are now trying to expand their horizons so that they can tide over the bad period.
 
So, Indian gems and jewellery industry is trying to regroup and focus more exclusively on south eastern Asia markets, to shift away from recession-plagued developed economies of the US and Europe.

Exports have fallen by 19 to 20 per cent in the last three to four months. The industry needs to do aggressive marketing. And it needs to find new markets so that the gems and jewellery sector doesn’t have to totally depend on the United States.

So, the industry is now targeting new markets in south East Asia and countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and China.

India is a major global player in the gems and jewellery industry, with exports worth nearly $20 billion for the fiscal 2007 and 2008.  But, the industry has lost its sheen since the global economic meltdown, especially with the United States being India’s largest market, with about 50 per cent of exports.

India, with its abundant skilled workers in the sector, had positioned itself as a leading diamond cutting and polishing center in the world.

Nine out of 10 diamonds sold worldwide are cut and polished in cities like Jaipur, Surat, Mumbai in the north, plus Coimbatore and Nagercoil in southern India.

Dwindling exports is also impacting employment in the industry, where millions of Indians source for jobs in factories. 

Some 30 per cent of businesses has ceased operations and at least nine workers committed suicide after losing their jobs. 

India has about 6,000 exporters and three to four million workers directly and indirectly employed in this industry.

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