India’s gems and jewellery exports recorded a strong rebound in November, rising nearly 20 per cent year-on-year to USD 2.5 billion, driven by higher demand in key overseas markets and a sharp surge in studded and silver jewellery shipments, industry body GJEPC said.

According to data released by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, exports stood at USD 2.1 billion in November last year. Despite the monthly jump, overall exports during the April–November period remained largely flat at USD 18.86 billion, marginally higher than USD 18.85 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year.

Cut and polished diamonds continued to support growth, with gross exports rising sharply to USD 919.74 million in November compared to USD 666.34 million a year ago. Provisional exports of polished lab-grown diamonds also posted a healthy increase of over 10 per cent, reaching USD 76.09 million against USD 68.83 million last year.

Gold jewellery exports, however, remained under pressure due to volatile prices and were almost unchanged at USD 1.21 billion, slightly lower than USD 1.23 billion recorded in November last year. In contrast, studded gold jewellery shipments saw a significant jump to USD 828.89 million from USD 555.39 million, supported by strong job work demand. Silver jewellery exports registered one of the sharpest increases, surging to USD 197.97 million from USD 63.99 million a year ago, aided by the restoration of bullion supplies after earlier shortages.

GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali said demand was stabilising across several export markets, including Hong Kong, China and the Middle East. While the US market remained sluggish, strong demand from other regions helped lift overall performance. He added that the recovery in silver exports was largely due to improvements in the supply chain.