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This Week in AsiaEconomics

India’s gem sector regains shine beyond US as exporters pivot to Asia, Middle East

Shipments rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November, reflecting a successful diversification push, analysts say

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A salesman checks the quality of a diamond necklace through a magnifier at a jewellery store in Chennai. India is the world’s largest exporter of diamonds due to its dominance in gem cutting and polishing. Photo: AFP
Biman Mukherji
India’s gem and jewellery exports, among the country’s biggest earners, are rebounding in ways that reflect a successful push to diversify trade away from the United States amid higher tariffs and a tougher global trade environment, analysts and industry executives have said.
The industry’s shipments rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November, even after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian goods – a move that had initially raised fears of a sharp hit to one of the country’s biggest export sectors.

Industry executives caution that the November jump partly reflects delayed shipments following the Diwali holiday in October, but say the underlying trend points to gradual stabilisation driven by stronger demand from alternative markets in Asia and the Middle East.

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Shipments rose to US$2.51 billion from US$2.10 billion a year earlier, according to figures from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

An Indian woman tries on gold ornaments at a jewellery shop in Bengaluru. India’s gem and jewellery exports rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November. Photo: EPA
An Indian woman tries on gold ornaments at a jewellery shop in Bengaluru. India’s gem and jewellery exports rose 19.64 per cent year on year to US$2.51 billion in November. Photo: EPA

The rebound followed a subdued October, when production and dispatches slowed because of the Diwali festival, with some exports deferred to November, GJEPC Chairman Kirit Bhansali told This Week in Asia.

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