GJEPC pursues jewellery trade links with Colombia

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 30, 2020

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council sought to foster trade links with Colombia and promote India as aviable sourcing destination at online event India Global Connect with Colombia.

The GJEPC had recently held the first edition of its India Global Connect online networking event with UK-based businesses and looked to Colombia for its second edition, the GJEPC reported on its website.

The online event’s participants included Ambassador of India to Colombia Sanjiv Ranjan, GJEPC chairman Colin Shah, and executive president of the Colombia India Chamber of Commerce and board member of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce Jaime Mantilla, among others.

The virtual meet was designed to facilitate networking between the two nations in the gem and jewellery sector and spark discussions between manufacturers, exporters and importers from both countries, according to the GJEPC. 
 
“Gold mining is an important sector for the Colombian Government, and it is placing a lot of emphasis on gold mining and production as a policy for economic recovery after the pandemic,” said Ranjan at the event, the GJEPC reported.

“Colombia is one of the largest producers of gold and India is one of the largest importers, so the conditions for developing a strong basis for trade in the sector is already established. I would like Indian businesses to explore the possibility of direct sourcing of gemstones from Colombia. The trade between two countries is dominated by a few products. India’s exports motorcycles, textiles, chemicals, pharma products, and, in turn, Colombia exports to India include emeralds, gold, petroleum, and a few other items. Our trade basket should now also include gems and jewellery in a significant manner.” 
 
“Gem and jewellery trade between India and Colombia is presently around $400 million [Rs 2,661 crore],” said Shah. “There are already existing complementarities between the two countries- Colombia is into mining and producing rough metals and gemstones, and India is into making jewellery and polishing gemstones. We see a great potential for enhancing trade between the two countries in the coming times.”
 
Over 500 participants attended the online event and Colombian participants included representatives from gem and jewellery businesses Studio Ingrid Burgos, Acodes, El Eden Joyas, and Aprecol, among others. Indian participants included representatives from businesses including Silver Mountain, Ansh Jewels, Gallant Jewellery, Dwarka Jewel, and Kedia Gem Impex among others. 
 
India and Colombia celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations in 2019. Following UK and Colombia editions, the GJEPC plans to organise similar online networking events with countries including the U.S., Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore in the near future.