Gems, Jewellery Exports To Fall 25-30 Pc This Fiscal Due To COVID-19: GJEPC

“Overall, we are expecting 25-30 per cent decline in gems and jewellery exports in 2020-21,” he said. This year, there is going to be demand but manufacturing will be the challenge because a lot of workers have still not returned, he said, adding “we hope we can ramp up manufacturing to go up with the demand”.

Jewellery manufacturers were functioning with 25 per cent manpower keeping in line with state government guidelines amid the pandemic. From Thursday onwards, this limit has been increased to 50 per cent along with the rest of the safety guidelines that the manufacturers have to maintain, Shah said.

When asked about the challenges expected during the next two quarters, he said that usually the season is from October to March, when most retail buying takes place due to festive seasons. “The demand is strong and we expect things to be close to normal by then. We expect 10 per cent decline during the second and third quarters,” he added.

Commerce and Industry Ministry Joint Secretary Suresh Kumar said this first ever virtual buyer and seller meet will be a new beginning for the council and will set an example. “We are not sure how fast the entire scenario globally is going to change and how early we can travel and how the buyer seller meets physically. So, keeping that in mind, the industry should not waste its time, waiting for the pandemic to go away. Instead of that, it is prudent for the council to shift into a virtual platform,” he said.