The Indian gems and Jewelry industry has asked the government to provide relief package to deal with the ongoing downturn in demand and to save millions of people from being unemployed.
The Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India asked the government to give a relief package to prevent the industry from loosing 25%-30% of its workforce due to layoffs in the time of recession, as reported by jckonline.
GJEPC revealed that until November 8, 2008, the total exports of gems and jewelry declined 34.25% and the same trend would continue in December 2008. The exports of cut and polished diamonds at the manufacturing level slipped more than 20% against the same period last year. Moreover, the orders during April-October 2008 declined at an average of over 20%.
During April-December 2008, the Indian gems and jewelry industry laid off nearly 65,000 workers and the same number of people are likely to be laid off in coming two months. As nearly 1.3 Million people and their families depend on the industry; therefore, the government has to provide relief to the industry which is already striving to save so many people from being unemployed, said GJEPC.
According to the GJEPC officials, recession in the US, the largest market for the Indian gems and jewelry industry importing 30%-35% of its total exports, is primarily responsible for decline in the demand.
Moreover, GJEPC has proposed the government to permit status holders to buy and sell gold directly as it will help the industry to overcome inequitable gold supply. It will also give relief to smaller exporters as they can fulfill their needs of the metal in smaller lots.
In its effort to deal with the menace, GJEPC said that the industry has cut down the production and has taken a moratorium on buying of rough diamond for processing for one month.
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