G&J Exporters Buoyed by US Holiday Sales Growth After Two Years of Slump
Chennai: As the holiday sales of the $356 billion US jewellery market grew about 5 per cent this time, reversing the trend of the last two years, the Indian gems and jewellery industry is looking forward to a revival in exports in 2025.
The holiday season brought cheer to the US jewellery industry, with sales experiencing a 4 per cent year-over-year increase, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Jewellery was a sought-after gift during the festive period. The 4 per cent growth is a jump from the 2 per cent decline witnessed in the 2023 holiday season. Even in 2022, the US holiday jewellery sales were 5.4 per cent down.
As per the data of Visa, jewellery, which was one of the top categories that led the US holiday sales, grew by 5 per cent during the holiday season.
The jewellery market in the US is estimated to be $356.36 billion, with holiday season sales accounting for a major chunk.
The Indian gems and jewellery industry had started seeing pick-up in orders in the month of October, ahead of the November-December season.
“The increase in US jewellery retail sales will see more orders coming from the trade for replenishment purposes. Further, Valentine's Day in February too is a major opportunity for jewellery retailers. We expect to clock robust growth in the March quarter and hope that the exports will see a revival next year,” said Sabyasachi Ray, executive director, of GJEPC.
The exports have been down for the larger part of the year. Hence the overall exports for FY25, may see some recovery, but still be down against the previous year.
Gems and jewellery exports have been lagging for more than a decade. Ever since FY12, when the industry had earned $46.85 billion revenues from overseas shipments, exports have remained subdued and in FY24, it had declined 15 per cent to touch $32.02 billion.
Apart from the US, UAE too is doing well with plain gold jewellery sales seeing a consistent growth. However China, which is another major buyer of Indian diamonds through Hong Kong, has remained a major concern.
