The gem and jewellery (GJ) sector experienced a significant downturn in exports during the period spanning April 2023 to March 2024, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Data reveals a noteworthy decline of 14.94%, with overall gross exports amounting to USD 32,022.08 million, compared to USD 37,646.17 million in the preceding year for the same duration. Specifically, March 2024 saw a sharp decrease of 11.85% in total gross exports of GJ, reaching USD 2,292.58 million as opposed to USD 2,600.86 million in March of the previous year.
Conversely, gross imports of GJ exhibited a decline of 13.84% during the aforementioned period, totaling USD 22,267.839 million compared to USD 25,844.46 million in the previous year. However, March 2024 saw a marginal uptick of 0.03% in gross imports, amounting to USD 2,071.68 million compared to USD 2,071.11 million in March of the previous year.
Cut and polished diamond exports bore the brunt of the downturn, experiencing a substantial contraction of 27.58%, with a total value of USD 15,966.47 million. Imports of rough diamonds during April 2023 to March 2024 witnessed a decline of 17.85%.
Provisional data indicates that the gross export of polished lab-grown diamonds for April 2023 to March 2024 amounted to USD 1,402.3 million, reflecting a decrease of 16.54% compared to USD 1,680.22 million in the previous year.
In contrast, total gold jewellery exports for April 2023 to March 2024 stood at USD 11,140.780 million, marking a notable increase of 16.79% compared to USD 9,538.84 million in the same period of the previous year.