India’s gems and jewellery exports grew by 67 per cent in August to USD 3.1 billion year-on-year due to increased sales in the US and non-traditional markets like Russia and China.

“We have been able to increase our share in the US market to about 32 per cent from 26 per cent earlier,” Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Vice-Chairman Sanjay Kothari said.

The exporters have been able to capture some market share of Israel and Belgium in the US, he added.

The US along with the 27-nation bloc European Union account for over 70 per cent of the country’s total gems and jewellery exports.

Exports of cut and polished diamonds exports in August saw maximum growth of 65 per cent year-on-year followed by gold jewellery (49 per cent) and coloured gemstones (14 per cent), as per the GJEPC data.

The exports of the precious items during the April-August period increased by about 62 per cent to USD 15.2 billion over the same period last fiscal.

The increase in exports is also due to enhanced demand for the Indian items in markets like China and Russia.

The council expects the exports would be about 30-35 per cent in the current fiscal more over the previous year as demand was picking up in the traditional western markets.

In 2009-10, the exports of gems and jewellery were USD 29.33 billion.