New Delhi, Jan 25 (IANS): India's exports of gems and jewellery shot up by a whopping 71 per cent during the first three quarters (April-December) of the current financial year, over the same period of the previous year.

The sector clocked $28.9 billion exports as compared to $16.9 billion during the same period in 2020. Compared to the same period before the Covid pandemic struck, the gems and jewellery sector registered a growth of 3 per cent over $28 billion achieved in April-December 2019.

In December 2021 alone, India exported gems and jewellery worth $2.99 billion, registering a growth of 16.38 per cent over $2.57 bn in December 2020.

With record exports already achieved during the first three quarters of the current financial year, the sector has already surpassed $26.02 bn exports registered during the last FY (2020-21) and is likely to better the previous high of $35.89 bn scaled during the FY (2019-20).

The gems and jewellery sector made up 9.6 per cent share of India's entire exports basket during the period (April-December 2021), accounting for the third largest commodity share, after engineering goods and petroleum products.

The top 5 export destinations in April-November 2021 were the US (38.7 per cent), Hong Kong (24.6 per cent), the UAE (11.9 per cent), Belgium (6.6 per cent), and Israel (3.9 per cent).

Gems and jewellery industry contributes about 7 per cent of India's total GDP and employs the largest skilled and semi-skilled workforce of more than 50 lakh workers. More than 450 organised jewellery manufacturers, importers, and exporters are based in Surat, making the Gujarat city the jewellery manufacturing hub of the world.