Gems, jewellery exports may decline 5-10% this year; US-China trade war, protests in Hong Kong to impact sales: GJEPC

Mumbai: The overall gems and jewellery exports are expected to decline of 5-10 percent in this financial year on the back of US-China trade war, protests in Hong Kong and the implementation of VAT in the Middle East, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said. “We saw a decline of 5.70 percent dip in exports at Rs 1,32,170.32 crore from April-September 2019, against Rs 1,40,158.83 crore during the same period of FY19. The exports have been impacted due to weak demand from the US market, the continuing trade war between the US and China,” GJEPC vice chairman Colin Shah told reporters here. The on-going protests in Hong Kong and the slowdown in the Middle East after the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) from January 2018 has also affected gems and jewellery exports, Shah said. [caption id=“attachment_4399527” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] He said, looking at these trends the overall gems and jewellery exports are expected to decline by 5-10 percent in this financial year compared to 2018-19. In September, the overall gems and jewellery exports dipped by 7.43 percent to Rs 23,788.01 crore during September 2019, compared to Rs 25,698.6 crore in the corresponding month of 2018, according to the government data. The cut and polished diamonds during September declined by 18.87 percent to Rs 13,874 crore from Rs 17,101.45 crore in September 2018. Further, Shah said, the festive demand also seems subdued on the back of a slowdown in the economic scenario and lack of consumer demand. Set up by the Commerce Ministry, GJEPC is the apex body of the gems and jewellery industry representing over 6,000 exporters in the sector.