Gold jewellery exports to UAE up 42%

Interestingly, pure gold jewellery exports jumped 60% between May and June.

India has gained zero-duty access to the UAE jewellery export market, which was earlier levied a 5% duty, which could help Indian products reach markets in North Africa, West Asia and Central Asia. Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), India in turn allowed a 1% tariff reduction on gold imports from the UAE for cargoes of up to 200 tonnes.

Total exports to the UAE reached $5.4 billion in May-June, up 17 percent from the same period last year. ICRIER economist Arpita Mukherjee said that until recently, Indian exporters faced competition from gold jewellery from countries such as Turkey, “and our exports are trending down.”

“Removing tariffs is good for our exports. Regarding access to third-country markets, we need to understand who our competitors are and what their advantages are. Also, we need to understand the needs of importing countries. The demand for gold jewellery is growing,” said Mukherjee.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, exports of pure gold jewellery to the UAE rose 62.9% in May and 59.2% in June, valued at $135.2 million and $185 million, respectively, after contracting 27.7% to $141 million in April. “India-UAE CEPA is extremely beneficial to our gold jewellery industry as lower tariffs on gold imports from the UAE bring further competitiveness to the industry, while also receiving duty-free benefits for importing such jewellery in the UAE,” Ajay Sahai, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

He added that the 5% gain on high-value goods is a major concession and the UAE could become a centre for redistributing jewellery to the world to study the UAE’s competitive logistics and warehousing costs.

India sent its first shipment of jewellery to the UAE under the free trade agreement on May 1, said Commerce Minister BVR Subrahmanyam.

Since the UAE-India CEPA came into force on the 1st, the private sectors of both countries have shown great enthusiasm, with significant trade volumes Increase. possible.

“In the first half of 2022 alone, our data shows that the total value of non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and India reached $25.1 billion, a 20% increase over the first half of 2021. From the Indian side, we” have seen the statistics It shows that in May and June this year, India’s exports to the UAE increased by 16.22%… which means that once CEPA comes into full force, exports this year could exceed $55 billion,” the minister said.

Inquiries emailed to the Commerce Department on Saturday remained unanswered by press time.

dilasha.seth@livemint.com

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