Even though the South Indian jewellery retail market (according to Frost & Sullivan) has crossed the ₹2 lakh-crore mark and now accounts for 40% of the overall Indian jewellery retail business, it is still under-explored as per The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
GJEPC, the jewellery sector apex body, is now focusing on taking South India’s ‘under explored’ jewellery business to global buyers through trade shows & promotions.
The organised retail share of the South Indian jewellery retail market is more than ₹65,500 crore while the unorganised segment consists of over 2 lakh traditional local goldsmiths and jewellers, but international buyers of gem & jewellery are not quite familiar or sourcing to the extent desired, the council feels.
Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “Southern India is one of the biggest gem & jewellery markets for domestic consumption and exports is evident from the multitude of globally recognized companies and brands existing here. Yet the Southern India market is an under-explored jewellery market for national and international B2B manufacturers.
With Bengaluru emerging as a bridge between India and the U.S. on the tech side, GJEPC is taking several initiatives to develop the gem & jewellery business in the southern markets.
GJEPC is organizing the first-ever India International Jewellery Show - IIJS Tritiya – in Southern India at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) from March 17 to 20. This comes a month prior to Akshaya Tritiya, the auspicious gold jewellery-buying festival.
IIJS Tritiya, the third exhibition under the IIJS banner, features more than 800 exhibitors and over 1,500 stalls and the event is expected to attract over 12,000 trade visitors from 500 cities.
It will showcase a wide range of products, including gold and gold CZ studded jewellery, diamond, gemstone and other studded jewellery, silver jewellery, artefacts, and gifting items, loose stones, lab-grown diamonds, as well as laboratories and educational resources.
As GJEPC targets $75 billion of gem & jewellery exports from the present level of $40 billion, the importance of Southern India is growing rapidly, Mr. Shah added.
Southern India may be growing in terms of jewellery exports but it can do much better compared to Western India (Mumbai and Surat), the Council believes.
Published - March 16, 2023 07:57 pm IST
