Signalling that the export market is gaining momentum, a major export item ?gems and jewellery?that accounts for 13% of the country?s export basket, increased 16% in 2009-10 to $28.4 billion against $24.4 billion in the previous year. The figures were released by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Friday.

Cut and polished diamond exports increased over 20% to $17.5 billion in the fiscal year from $14.6 billion in 2008-09. Within the entire export basket for gems and jewellery, cut and polished diamonds account for over 60%, gold jewellery 31% and colour gemstones accounting for the rest.

Coloured gems stone export rose 10.55% to $286.65 million in 2009-10 against $259.29 million in the previous fiscal, while gold jewellery export increased by 9.38% to $9.42 billion during the period under review compared with $8.61 billion in 2008-09.

Chairman of GJEPC Vasant Mehta said the surge in exports was a strong indicator that the gem and jewellery export market had overcome the recessionary phase of decline and could continue to see high growth rates in the years ahead. The gems and jewellery industry has set a target to double jewellery exports by 2012-13.

Over the last 10 years gems and jewellery exports have witnessed a four-fold jump. In 2000-01 gems and jewellery exports stood at $7.7 billion which increased to $28.4 billion in the last fiscal year.

Mehta said in a bid to keep up the export numbers for the future, the council was looking at newer markets that have so far been left untapped. ?There are markets where our presence is very low. We are looking to penetrate markets like Russia, Korea, Brazil, Latin America and Malaysia,? he said.

For this purpose, GJEPC is organising buyer-seller meets in these new markets and would also organise trade fairs to attract potential buyers from across the world.

Despite the growth, Mehta said so far India is largely a diamond polishing market and urged the government to give the sector fiscal incentives. The list included restoration of the facility of interest subvention of 2% on rupee export credit, creation of a special dollar fund from the reserves of RBI, inclusion of the sector under the thrust sector and allowance of consignment import of rough diamonds for trading and manufacturing among others.