Gem and Jewellery exporters see a big opportunity in the European Union
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The Gem and Jewellery sector says India has a big untapped business opportunity in European Union (EU) and demands duty-free market access for Indian made jewellery exports, in the backdrop of India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and the upcoming India-EU Summit.
Current EU import duties on gold, silver, platinum, imitation jewellery, and coins range from 2.5% to 4%. India-EU trade is valued at around US$ 5.15 billion. As of CY2024, India’s exports to the EU stood at US$ 2.7 billion, while imports totalled US$2.5 billion. Exports are currently dominated by cut and polished diamonds (valued at US$ 1.72 billion), followed by gold jewellery (US$ 453 million) and silver jewellery (US$ 85 million). Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) demands the removal or reduction of these tariffs and calibrated concessions on select imports from the EU, particularly regarding diamonds and coloured gemstones.
''Indian exporters can move beyond raw material supply to scale volumes in higher-value jewellery categories, strengthening India’s long-term positioning in the global trade ecosystem'', says Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC.
GJEPC notes that India has vast opportunities in the EU and has an untapped export potential of US$ 16 billion in jewellery products.
The EU-27 imports US$ 11.37 billion worth gold jewellery annually from the global market. Of this, imports from India stand at just US$ 468 million, representing a market share of only 4.11%. In the case of silver jewellery, of the US$ 2.47 billion global import market in the EU, India's share is only US$104 million (4.2%). Similarly, India holds a meager 2% share of the EU's US$ 2.7 billion import market for imitation jewellery.
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Meanwhile, the sector is also looking forward to big sops from the Union budget. Given India’s household gold holdings of close to 24,000 tonnes, continued policy focus on innovative mechanisms to mobilise physical gold can help unlock significant long-term value for the economy, says Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO, Senco Gold.
''Additionally, steps that strengthen competitiveness, including a review of the current 6% import duty, along with focused vocational training for karigars, greater adoption of technology, and appropriate flexibility for SEZ units to serve domestic demand, would further reinforce the organised jewellery sector’s contribution to employment, consumption and exports,” he says.