Diamond exports cross $5 billion mark

Voicing concern over the withdrawal of the lower credit for pre-and post shipment exports from April 1, 1999, Pandya said: "It is important for the government to think of measures for giving protection to this sensitive industry, especially in the light of thefact that China is considering aggressively to set up diamond processing zones which will give serious competition to Indian processors. Once the industry moves out of the country for whatever reasons, it will be difficult to bring it back."

Pandya thanked the government for the various export boosting measures and said the latest Exim policy provisions were `bold and pragmatic’. "The announcement would integrate the Indian diamond industry with global industries and would make exports more competitive." However, some concerns were voiced out by Pandya. First, the interest rate for borrowing should be on par with competitors (other exporting countries) and fixed at 8 per cent compared to the current effective rate of around 14 per cent.

Secondly, import of cut and polished diamonds should not be restricted to just 5 per cent of the total export value. It would be better if this facility was extended to all eligible exporters rather than restricting it to export houses only. Thirdly, gold directly importedby EPZ and EOU units should be assessed at the same effective rate of customs duty as applicable in the domestic area and lastly, sales tax on diamonds imposed by some state governments like Maharashtra need to be withdrawn.

During the calender year ended December 1998, Israel recorded exports worth $3,635 million, while India registered exports worth $4,783 million. Israel’s exports fell by around 11 per cent in 1998 compared to its exports last calender year when the exports were $4.1 billion. Against this, India registered a growth of 12 per cent over its exports for last calender year when exports were placed at $4,276 million.