Jewellery sector to witness significant growth in export: Vipul Shah

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India’s exports in the jewellery segment were better in the third quarter compared to all other segments, Vipul Shah, Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Speaking about the precious metals market outlook, Shah took an optimistic stance on achieving targets set by the Ministry of Finance, provided that the Ukraine-Russia crisis does not affect supply.

Export numbers on a quarterly basis stood on the positive side during the month of October and November, he said.

He added: “We are one of the leaders as far as the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process of the lab grown diamonds is concerned. We will be achieving almost USD2 billion of export size this segment.”

Shah further said that there is a tremendous growth opportunity in the jewellery sector for India to grow.

Commenting on the industry's Budget expectations, the GJEPC chairman said, it wishes the government reduces import duty on cut and polished diamonds to 2.5 percent from 5 percent, allow the sale of rough diamonds in special notified zones, exempt 2 percent equalization levy on rough diamonds sales, and abolish import duties on seeds used to manufacture lab-grown diamonds.

Shah further said that there is a tremendous growth opportunity in the jewellery sector for India to grow.

Commenting on the industry's Budget expectations, the GJEPC chairman said, it wishes the government reduces import duty on cut and polished diamonds to 2.5 percent from 5 percent, allow the sale of rough diamonds in special notified zones, exempt 2 percent equalization levy on rough diamonds sales, and abolish import duties on seeds used to manufacture lab-grown diamonds.

Shah also suggested the government to bring back the application of the Diamond Imprest Licence, which was abolished in the year 2009 and discussed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and how it has helped the growth of the jewellery market in India. As part of the agreement, the UAE government has waived the five percent import duty. The CEPA was signed between India and the UAE on February 20, 2022.