CEPA To Boost to India-UAE Bilateral Jewellery Trade

India's exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which were in a negative growth trajectory post the outbreak of COVID-19 to April 2022, have witnessed a rebound since May 2022.

India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed on 18 February 2022. It came into force on 1st May 2022.

According to data analysed by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), India's jewellery exports to UAE slumped by 67.28 per cent year-on-year in 2020-21. It could not be rebounded back to pre-COVID levels to $9.5 billion in 2021-2022 and remained in a negative growth trajectory till April 2022.

Post the signing of CEPA, exports grew by 16.22 per cent to $837.14 million in May-June 2022 as compared to $720.31 million in May-June 2021.

Going by the commodity-wise exports, plain gold jewellery exports which have witnessed a negative growth consistently since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic till April 2022 have witnessed a positive growth by 62 per cent and 59 per cent in May 2022 and June 2022 to $135.27 million and $185.78 million.

Exports of total gold jewellery have registered a positive growth of 52.43 per cent and 36.06 per cent in May and June 2022 after recording negative growth for the last several months after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gems and Jewellery sector contributes a substantial portion of India's exports to the UAE and is a sector that is expected to benefit significantly from the tariff concessions obtained for Indian products under the India-UAE CEPA.

CEPA is expected to increase the total value of bilateral trade in goods to over $100 billion and trade in services to over $15 billion within five years.