India’s gems and jewellery exports have risen 21.5 per cent to $9.38 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal, as against $8.01 billion in the corresponding period last year. At a time when the Indian exporting community is feeling the heat of rupee appreciation, gems and jewellery exports, which recorded a poor growth of 2.7 per cent in 2006-07, is witnessing a turnaround, said a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) analysis on the country’s foreign trade.
According to RBI, the rise in exports growth is fuelled by strong demand from all international quarters, especially Hong Kong and the United States. It further said the supply-demand imbalance is primarily responsible for the sudden spurt in gold prices all over.
The rupee appreciation of more than 10 per cent this fiscal, according to analysts, has also increased the competitiveness of gems and jewellery sector by making imports of raw materials like gold and uncut gems cheaper.
The World Gold Council (WGC) has pointed out that total gold supply for the second quarter of this year stood at 840 tons, whereas the demand stood at 944 tons. “Global demand for gold jewellery showed the strongest surge, reaching $14.5 billion in Q2 2007, a 37 per cent increase over Q2 2006,” added WGC.
International gold prices began to pick up from 2001, and this year witnessed a sharp rise in gold prices. Gold prices crossed the $700 per ounce mark on October 19, 2007. The domestic prices also followed the international trend.
– Bengaluru Bureau
