Indonesia Begins Push into U.S. Jewelry Market

The Indonesian jewelry industry officially introduced itself to the U.S. jewelry market Monday with a ceremony at the JA New York Summer Show led by the country’s ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat explained that while the United States is Indonesia’s second largest jewelry partner, the U.S. ranks at about 10th in jewelry exports from the Southeast Asian nation. The ambassador said the country is looking to improve those numbers.

"We are coming to boost our presence here [in the U.S. market] and enhance our position as one of largest manufactured silver jewelry suppliers," the ambassador said. "We look forward to working with you."

Indonesia is a nation of 18,000 islands and 230 million people, the ambassador explained. It has an abundance of precious metals and gems. Its ancient silver, gem, and jewelry industry has developed over hundreds of years. Today, about one million Indonesians work in it, with a large focus on hand-crafted jewelry.

Indonesia's jewelry industry is "blessed with (an abundance of) raw materials for precious and semi-precious gems, and with fine craftsmanship," Parnohadiningrat said.

The ambassador spoke at the show’s Indonesian Pavilion consisting of 16 jewelry making firms, displaying items made of silver, gold, gemstones, and other materials—including stone and wood. The delegation was organized by the National Agency for Export Development, in the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.

It is the country’s first significant presence at a U.S. trade show and it is serving as a first step to building a strong presence in the U.S., the ambassador told JCK prior to his formal presentation.

Even without a strong U.S. presence, The Indonesian jewelry industry has been growing at an average rate of 7 percent per year, earning $4.61 billion in 2006, the ambassador said. Its largest trading partners are Middle Eastern countries, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China, he told JCK.

In addition, the ambassador and the country’s trade organizations were there to promote its upcoming TRADEXPO Indonesia, a merchandise and commodity show. It is being held Oct. 21-25 at the Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran-Jakarta, Indonesia.
Source: jckonline

Italy jewelry output, exports seen down '08

Output and exports of jewelry from Italy, Europe's biggest producer, will fall this year owing to high gold prices and a weakening global economy, an industry expert said on Friday.

In 2007, foreign sales of export-focused Italian jewelry fell a greater than expected 6.2 percent by volume, while their value rose 4.1 percent, said Stefano de Pascale, director of Italian goldsmiths' body Federorafi.

In the first quarter of this year, jewelry exports from Veneto, one of the three main Italian jewelry manufacturing regions, fell 4.7 percent in value, indicating weakness across the sector, de Pascale told Reuters.

"There are reasons to consider 2008 as another year of suffering for the sector, of falls in output and exports," Stefano de Pascale, director of Italian goldsmiths' body Federorafi said in a telephone interview.

Italy, the world's biggest jewelry exporter and design leader, has seen output and export volumes fall in the past few years as India, China and Turkey have fought their way into key export markets by improving quality.

Italian jewelry export volume had been forecast to fall between 2.5 and 5.0 percent in 2007, according to different preliminary industry estimates.

"The decline that we saw in 2007 extends into the first quarter of this year," de Pascale said.

The jewelry sector was among those hit first and hardest by weakening consumer demand as global economic growth slows and fears about recession intensify, especially in the United States, the main jewelry market, he said.

Extreme volatility of gold prices on world markets this year has been "extremely penalizing" for jewelers, as buyers were reluctant to place orders in the hope that metal prices would stabilize, he said.

Gold prices spiked to a lifetime high of $1,030.80 per ounce on March 17 but have fallen about 14 percent since then, dragged by profit taking and falls in other commodities.

Jewelry output in Italy fell 5 percent to 207.9 tonnes in 2007, or less than 40 percent of the 1998 production peak, according to the latest report by metals consultancy GFMS Ltd.
Source: reuters

Government ready to support gem and jewelry business

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan on Tuesday revealed the government is ready to support the gems and jewelry business, and that a forecast of exports of the products would exceed Bt220 billion this year.

Speaking at a press conference for the 41st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair which will be held February 27-March 2, he said the government is willing to promote the gem and jewelry business since the Thai products are ranked in the top five for international recognition.

He said this year's gem and jewelry fair serves as a venue to show the potential of a range of Thai products.
 
It is expected that more than 30,000 traders from the world over will participate in the exhibition and that over Bt25 billion would be circulated since the fair had won international recognition.

Last year, he said, Thailand's gem and jewelry exports totaled Bt185 billion in value, which is considered a good response.

This year, the Thai Gems and Jewelry Traders' Association pledged to increase the export value of the products to at least Bt220 billion.
 
Mr. Mingkwan predicted that the value of Thailand's exports in the sector would rise to no less than Bt250 billion baht if the government successfully deregulates official procedures, finds source of raw materials, and conduct public relations for product awareness through local and foreign media.
Source: mcot

Leviev leads list of top Israeli diamond exporters

Diamantaire Lev Leviev's company L.L.D. Diamonds Ltd. once again topped the annual list of the 30 largest Israeli polished-diamond exporters, boasting $522 million in diamond exports in 2007, according to new Israeli government statistics.

The list, published by the Israel Diamond Controller's Office in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, was released on Monday. Net polished exports of the top 30 exporters totaled $3.160 billion, accounting for 44 percent of Israel's total net polished diamonds, which reached $7.075 billion in 2007, according to Shmuel Mordechai, Israel Diamond Controller.

Second on the list of top polished-diamond exporters is Leo Schachter Ltd. with $446 million in diamond exports. Third place went to Moshe Namdar and Co. with $199 million, while fourth place went to Espeka Diamonds International Ltd. with $194 million in diamond exports, and fifth place to A. Dalumi Diamonds Ltd. with $170 million in exports.

The remaining top 10 exporters are: Yerushalmi Brothers Ltd., sixth place, $161 million in exports; A.A. Rachminov Ltd., seventh place, $128 million in exports; M.I.D. House of Diamonds Ltd., eighth place, $122 million in exports; Poligem Ltd., ninth place, $94 million in exports; and Rosy Blue Sales Ltd., 10th place, $93 million in exports.

The list of 30 does not include 15 companies, whose exports totaled $739 million, who chose not to publish their export figures.

Moti Ganz, chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) and President of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association, said that these diamond exporters have made an important contribution to the Israeli Diamond Industry, as well as to Israel's economy. But he also noted the strength of Israel's diamond industry rests on the valuable contribution of all the country's industry members, including manufacturers, exporters and traders.

"The Israel Diamond Institute applauds all of the industry's exporters, large and small," IDI Managing Director Eli Avidar said in a release. "We are dedicated to serving the entire industry, investing major efforts in developing new markets—such as China and India—and expanding existing ones."
Source: nationaljewelernetwork

Dominican customs set new regulations for jewelry export

The Customs Department (DGA) is warning that anyone wanting to take jewelry or components out of the country needs to present an Single Customs Declaration (DUA in Spanish) export form 24 hours in advance.

Customs says that as well as the declaration, people will need to show receipts or documents proving that the merchandise was legally acquired, in keeping with article 167 of Law No. 3489 on Customs Regime.

They will also need to show where they received financing for purchasing the merchandise on the local market.

The DGA says that the measure is being taken because of suspected money laundering and other illegal activities using jewelry exports.

“The Customs Department notes with concern that lately people have been exporting jewelry and components to the United States in an unregulated manner, against the law, so the DGA has taken steps to prevent that money is laundered in this way, in violation of Law 72-02 and article 200 of Law 3489, modified by Law 226-06 that establishes the DGA’s autonomy”, said a statement from the Customs Department.

Customs went on to say that the measure seeks to prevent money laundering linked to drug trafficking and terrorist funding, as established by international conventions, so people must be able to show how they financed the purchase.

The department added that the measure also ensures that the transport of assets is regulated, and that the acquisition of money in the banking system also has to fulfill a series of regulations that establish the sources, as the DGA suspects that the purchase of these jewels for export is a way of laundering money.
Source: dominicantoday

India : Jewelry export drops over 7.2%

Demand for Indian jewelry in US has declined due to appreciation of Rupee. Exports have also gone down by 7.23 percent from Rs7,563.96 crore last year to Rs7,017 crore in September this year. Weakening of Dollar, might further bring down the profit levels for Indian exporters.

Export of gold jewellery in particular dropped from Rs2,157.74 crore to Rs1,746.37 crore, while that of diamond fell 1.73 percent to Rs4,936.18 crore.

Compared to last year, however, the over all export of Gems and Jewelry has gone up 9.41 percent.

Same is the case for imports of diamonds and colored gems, which have declined considerably. In spite of which, on an over all level, the imports have risen by 22.59 percent from Rs28,593.72 crore last year to Rs35,052.78 crore this year.
Source: fibre2fashion

India's Jewelry Exports Climb, Led by Diamond Sales

Exports of jewelry from India, the world's largest producer, climbed 24 percent in the five months ended August as overseas sales of diamonds rose.

Exports reached $7.75 billion, compared with $6.24 billion a year ago, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council said on its Web site. India shipped gems and jewelry worth $1.87 billion last month compared with $1.43 billion a year earlier.

Gold demand from India almost doubled in the three months ended June 30 to 317.2 tons as faster-than-expected economic expansion and plans to double jewelry exports in the next five years sparked purchases and investment demand.

Diamond exports rose 25 percent to $5.1 billion and jewelry sales gained 24 percent to $2.2 billion in the five months ended August. Sales of gemstones rose 11 percent to $99 million, while shipments of rough diamonds rose 12 percent to $222 million from year ago, the council said.

India's exports of gems and jewelry rose 3 percent to $17 billion in the year ended March from $16.6 billion a year ago, according to council's Web site.
Source: bloomberg