Indian export body promotes jewellery sales to UK trade
By David Brough
LONDON, June 29, 2019 – India’s gem and jewellery export arm the GJEPC hosted a well-attended presentation and dinner for the UK trade in London on June 28 as part of a vigorous marketing push to boost sales to UK buyers.
The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) sent a delegation to the UK in the last week of June to meet with the trade on a roadshow around the country, to promote the IIJS trade event in Mumbai, and to encourage UK buyers to stock Indian gems and jewellery.
Some 80 UK jewellery buyers attended the dinner held in a West London restaurant and heard a presentation from the visiting GJEPC delegation.
Mehul Lodhiya, UK representative to the GJEPC, and visiting GJEPC delegate Mansukh Kothari gave introductions, followed by a talk and slide show about the Indian industry and IIJS by Vikrant Pradhan.
India’s First Secretary at the High Commission in London, Rohit Vadhwana, gave a briefing to the audience, noting a recent fall in the value of Indian gem and jewellery exports to the UK.
This drop, notably in gold jewellery sales, may have been linked to uncertainty over Brexit and a weak pound against the dollar, jewellers said.
Gemstones and precious metals are denominated in U.S. dollars.
The GJEPC will be encouraging UK gem and jewellery buyers to attend IIJS-India International Jewellery Show and planned “Buyer Seller Meetings” (BSMs) in India in the coming months, as part of a strategy to reinvigorate Indian gem and jewellery exports to the UK.
The UK currently accounts for around 2 percent of total Indian gem and jewellery exports.
India exports around $40 billion of gems and jewellery a year, representing around 7 percent of GDP. The main markets for the Indian exports are the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Promoting “Made in India” gem and jewellery exports, highlighting the high quality of Indian craftsmanship and the efficiency of Indian manufacturing, will be key to the GJEPC’s strategy in the months ahead.
India jewellery trade dinner in London
