GJEPC urges government to provide relief for jewellery industry

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 29, 2021

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has urged the government to provide jewellery businesses with assistance during the current halt to operations caused by local lockdowns. 

The GJEPC’s chairman Colin Shah wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to request regulatory assistance for jewellery businesses, especially those in areas of the country under local lockdown such as Maharashtra. To prevent economic fallout, the GJEPC has requested measures including an extension of import payments, rescheduling of loan payments, and the status quo to be maintained for credit ratings among others, the GJEPC reported on its website. 
 
“Just as the macroeconomic numbers point to a recovery in a particular month, there is another set of data spreading the gloom of downturn the very next month,” wrote Shah in the letter, the GJEPC reported on its website.

“The gem and jewellery trade has also been impacted and the sector is reeling under a lot of uncertainty with closure of retail stores, restriction on travel and logistics, restriction on manufacturing capacity and number of employees coming to work to curb the spread of the pandemic.”
 
The GJEPC has asked the government to grant a moratorium of three months on the payment of all instalments and interest on loans taken by jewellery businesses falling due between April 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. The sector has been downgraded in terms of credit ratings due to decreased demand among other factors which has led to higher interest rates for borrowing. The GJEPC has asked for the government to instruct all credit rating agencies to maintain the status quo until March 31, 2022 to give the industry a chance to recover. 
 
“It has been the endeavour of the business owners to put in place a policy for safeguarding the workers and the manufacturing staff, therefore a serious assistance from the government is looked upon to avoid any default and overcome this period of the crisis,” wrote Shah.