Gems and jewellery exports rose by 29.18 per cent to Rs 13,160.24 crore (USD 1,764.06 million) in August compared with the previous month following gradual growth in demand in the US, China, Europe among others, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said on Saturday.

The total shipments in July stood at Rs 10,187.04 crore (USD 1,358.58 million), the GJEPC said in a statement.

However, on year-on-year basis, overall exports of gems and jewellery declined by 38.84 per cent in August to Rs 13,160.24 crore (USD 1,764.06) compared with Rs 21,518.73 crore (USD 3,018.32 million) in August 2019.

Exports of cut and polished diamonds (CPD) in August declined by 22.16 per cent at Rs 9,077.33 crore (USD 1216.79 million) compared with Rs 11,661.03 crore (USD 1,638 million) in the corresponding month last year.

Gold jewellery exports during August declined by 66.25 per cent to Rs 2,335.22 crore (USD 313.08 million) from Rs 6,919.28 crore (USD 967.42 million) in August 2019.

The recovery is due to growth in demand for diamonds and jewellery in international markets like the US, China, Europe etc. which have opened for trade, the GJEPC said.

We are optimistic of the near and long term, as several countries are now open for trade. We have witnessed initial signs of recovery from markets like the US, China, Europe and the export orders have seen a steady rise month on month over the last 4-5 months. From USD 36 million worth of exports in April 2020, the export numbers have recorded USD 1,764.06 million in August 2020, which is a healthy recovery, GJEPC chairman Colin Shah said.

All the gems and jewellery export units are working in full swing and the trade is getting back to normalcy, he noted.

We are optimistic that we will be able to have a decent recovery of gems and jewellery exports from the current levels and the overall decline gap will be minimised and with the way markets are opening, the way the trade is recovering, we are hopeful that we will be able to restrict the downside of exports to just over 20-25 per cent at the closure of the fiscal year, as compared with previous year exports, Shah added.

For the April to August 2020, the overall gross exports of gems and jewellery dipped by 43.59 per cent at Rs 45,189.76 crore (USD 6,008.57 million) compared to Rs 80,116.55 crore (USD 1,1478.14 million) for the same period previous year.