India’s overall exports of gems and jewellery dropped by 10.07% in August 2019, reaching USD 2.34 billion as against USD 2.60 billion in August 2018, according to provisional data released by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). While cut and polished diamond exports declined by 24.86% year-on-year totalling USD 1.64 billion during the month, gold jewellery (plain and studded) exports were up by 5.58% y-o-y touching USD 910.87 million during August as against USD 862.72 million the same month a year ago, the data indicated.

Rough imports during the month fell by 4.27% to USD 861.13 million as compared to USD 899.58 million imported during the previous August. In volume terms however, rough imports rose sharply from 7.76 mn carats during August 2018 to 11.51 mn carats in August 2019, said GJEPC. Imports of cut and polished diamonds declined 8.58% to USD 113.33 mn in August 2019 from USD 123.97 mn in the same month a year earlier.

Exports of rough diamonds totalled USD 120.15 million in August 2019 as compared to USD 115.74 mn a year earlier, while exports of rough lab grown diamonds stood at USD 0.70 million in August 2019. Exports of polished lab-grown diamonds stood at USD 37.35 mn during the month as against USD 15.16 mn a year earlier. Imports of rough lab grown diamonds stood at USD 15.34 mn, up from USD 14.11 mn a year ago, while imports of polished lab grown diamonds rose to USD 18.39 mn in August 2019 as compared to USD 5.92 mn a year earlier.

Exports of silver jewellery rose to US$ 100.43 million in August 2019 as compared to USD 72.36 million in the same month last year. Coloured gemstone exports fell marginally to USD 26.57 million in August 2019 as compared to USD 30.14 million exported during the same month a year earlier.