The growth came at a time when exporters had been complaining about reduced margins and weak export performance due to the strengthening rupee.
Owing to increased demand by Americans, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council expects a 35 per cent increase in jewellery exports to the US at $5.88 billion this fiscal.
The exports have shown a fall of 6% during the first 11 months of fiscal 2006-07.
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday asked the gem and jewellery exporters to create brand India image by improving product quality with the use of latest manufacturing technology.
Exporters on Thursday demanded fiscal incentives, tweaking in customs duties on certain products and credit at affordable rates in the forthcoming Budget to boost exports and create jobs. In a pre-budget virtual meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar is affecting exports' competitiveness and the sector requires more support. "Creation of employment is the biggest challenge faced by the country...We would urge the government to provide fiscal support to units which provide additional employment in the export sector," the exporter's body said.
Gems and jewellery exports may have risen over 20 per cent so far this fiscal, but the rising rupee has cost 150,000 diamond workers their jobs in the last one year, the head of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Sanjay Kothari, said.
The government was close to imposing presumptive tax and the goods and services tax on the gems and jewellery sector
Export of Indian gems and jewellery is unlikely to surpass previous records, given the volatile price of gold and the consumers' increased inclination toward luxury items like perfumes and watches.
Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council on Wednesday said it expects to attract foreign direct investment worth $2 billion in this fiscal besides a growth of 20-25 per cent.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India has announced the performance figures of the sector for January-December 2004.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has engaged UK-based Trend Forecasting for trend analysis focussing on the global market. \n\n
Gems and Jewellery exports from India would exceed $10 billion in 2003-04 as against the $9.1 billion in the last fiscal even as exporters have set a target of $16 billion by 2007.
The decline in gold imports has helped in narrowing the country's trade deficit to $106.84 billion during the eight-month period under review as against $133.74 billion in the year-ago months.
The exports of gems and jewellery during the first quarter ended June 30, 2003 showed only a marginal rise of 3.85 per cent at $1,880.45 million as against $1,810.78 million during the corresponding period last year.
So far, rough diamonds mined from the Panna mines in Madhya Pradesh were auctioned online but displayed only at Panna.
Soon after Unlock 1, the industry - which is estimated to polish nine of 10 rough diamonds in the world - resumed operations, but a surge in cases at diamond polishing cluster, especially in Katargam and Varachha, forced units to go into a voluntary lockdown, which continued until recently.
There are around 15 lakh diamond workers in Gujarat, including nearly seven lakh employed in units in Surat, which is the largest hub of cutting and polishing of these precious stones.
Some jewellers kept their shops shut in Mumbai as well.
After China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong earlier this month, the United States on July 14 withdrew the special status granted to Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada followed suit.
In India 24-carat gold is used mostly in coins and bars
During 2012-13, the gems and jewellery exports declined by 9.4 per cent year-on-year to $39 billion due to sluggish demand in traditional markets.
The group has called for a retaliatory tariff action against India, if New Delhi does not roll back the 'unilateral and discriminatory' equalisation levy or Google Tax.
Though exports to Hong Kong, a major destination for India's polished diamonds, have resumed, the industry is currently sitting on an inventory worth around $2.3 billion.
Diamond industry expects revenues to drop by 20-25% in the current financial year.
The industry alleges the government has been apathetic, despite their pleas for quick action. However, H2 may be different as The US-China trade war had opened a window for Indian exporters to ship more to America.
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Each company has tied up for different quantity and different quality of diamonds.
The spotlight is back on the hawala trade in diamonds.
The Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 8,000 crores in next two months as Hong Kong, which is a major export destination, has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, say experts. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat diamond industry, but schools and colleges have been closed there till the first week of March and even businesses are seeing a dip in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
India processes around 90% of the world's supply of rough diamonds.
In august last year, the government had raised import duty on gold and silver to 10 per cent to curb the surging imports and burgeoning CAD.
The industry body has issued two advisories in an attempt to restore jewellers credibility in the wake of the Rs 12,000-crore PNB-Nirav Modi scam, and recent defaults by two domestic jewellers - Goodwin and Rasiklal.
Indian exporters are said to be exporting gold jewellery with minimum value addition to get a higher gold import quota for domestic market after imports linked to exports under the 80:20 rule.
Only 400 grams have been deposited so far.
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