Condividiamo alcune notizie provenienti dagli Uffici Esteri dell’ICE.
GERMANIA: CRISI DEL COMMERCIO AL DETTAGLIO
(ICE) – ROMA, 24 APR – Secondo una nuova previsione dell’Associazione tedesca del commercio al dettaglio (HDE), quest’anno il numero di negozi in Germania si ridurrà di altre 9.000 unità. Le cause di ciò sono spesso riconducibili gli aumenti dei costi e alla diminuzione del potere d’acquisto dei clienti. Secondo le statistiche pubblicate da HDE, in Germania rimangono ancora 311.000 negozi, senza contare le microimprese. A confronto, nel 2015 si contavano quasi 373.000 negozi.
Il presidente della HDE, Alexander von Preen, avverte che i campanelli d’allarme devono risuonare in tutti i centri urbani e anche tra i politici, perché senza un commercio al dettaglio di successo i centri urbani non avranno alcuna prospettiva per il futuro.
Il numero di negozi in Germania si sta riducendo da tempo. Il calo è stato particolarmente marcato dal 2020 al 2022, a causa della pandemia di Coronavirus, quando il numero di negozi è diminuito di 11.000 unità all’anno. Tuttavia, anche negli anni pre-crisi, dal 2015 al 2019, ogni anno chiudevano in media 5.000 negozi. (ICE BERLINO)
INDIA’S GEMS AND JEWELLERY EXPORTS GROW 2.48% IN FY23
(ICE) – ROMA, 20 APR – India’s gems and jewellery exports grow 2.48% in FY23 India’s gems and jewellery exports grew 2.48% year-on-year in 2022-23 to Rs 3,00,462.52 crore, despite inflation in the United States, the Russia-Ukraine war and the lockdown in China for almost six months, according to figures released by the Gem & Jewellery Export Council (GJEPC).
“Timely implementation of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the commerce ministry resulted in a remarkable 17% growth in exports of plain gold jewellery in 2022-23. India’s major export markets remained the USA, Hong Kong and the UAE,” said Vipul Shah, chairman, GJEPC.
Overall gross exports of cut and polished diamonds stood at Rs 1,76,696.95 crore, a decline of 2.97% year-on-year.
Talking about the decline in cut and polished diamond exports, Shah said, “Global challenges affected the demand for diamonds in India’s key markets, including USA and China. But certain regions in Europe and Southeast Asia fared well. India encountered difficulties due to inconsistent Russian rough diamond supply and challenges with beneficiation, as countries such as Namibia, Botswana, and Angola prefer to have their rough diamonds cut in their own countries.”
However, he said stability will return to the diamond sector in the coming months, especially with improved conditions in China and Far East Asia.
In 2022-23, provisional gross exports of gold jewellery stood at Rs 75,635.72 crore, up 11.13%over Rs 68,062.41 crore in the previous fiscal.
Provisional gross exports of plain gold jewellery stood at Rs 33,177.86 crore, a growth of 17.22% over Rs 28,303.37 crore in 2021-22. Gross exports of all kinds of studded gold jewellery amounted to Rs 42,457.87 crore, a growth of 6.79% over Rs 39,759.04 crore in the previous fiscal.
In 2022-23 provisional gross exports of polished lab-grown diamonds stood at Rs 13,466.42 crore, up37.31% year-on-year.
Referring to the steady growth of lab-grown diamonds, the GJEPC chairman said this emerging sector has shown consistent growth in recent years. He also said that the government’s research grant of Rs 242 crore to IIT Madras, spread over five years, will support the development of local manufacturing technology in the industry. Additionally, the elimination of customs duty on lab-grown diamond seeds, previously at 5%, will enable India to establish global leadership in the complete production cycle of lab-grown diamonds and jewellery manufacturing, he said.
Provisional gross exports of silver jewellery increased 16.02% in 2022-23 toRs 23,492.71 crore, according to the data.
HOW PALANPURI JAINS CAPTURED GLOBAL DIAMOND TRADE
(ICE) – ROMA, 6 APR – In Belgium’s Antwerp, the diamond capital of the world, a diamond trader is most likely to be from one particular religion and one particular village in India.
The Jain community is known for its excellence in business and trade not only in India but in many other countries too, most popularly in Belgium where they trade in diamonds. In little more than half a century, a small Jain community, the Palanpuri Jains, so called because they come from Palanpur town in Banaskantha district of Gujarat, has got a hold on diamond trade in Antwerp.
On Mahavir Jayanti today, here’s the story of a community which is known to have attained business excellence due to their ascetic religion that puts great emphasis on ethical behaviour.
From Palanpur to Antwerp
In the 1960’s, when Jains from Gujarat’s Palanpur, mostly Shahs and Mehtas, started arriving in Antwerp, the diamond trade was controlled by a tight-knit community of the Hasidic Jews ruled by their own community regulations. The Palanpuri Jains were in no position to compete with them, so they started out by operating in a related smaller segment, the diamond dust, the very small diamonds which are not easy to cut or polish and thus drew little interest from the Hasidic Jews.
Since Jains operated in a segment which was not considered important, the Hasidic Jews did not feel threatened by them. In fact, it is said the Hasidic Jews also provided credit facilties to the Jains in the beginning. From Antwerp, the trading hub for rough diamonds from South Africa, Australia and Siberia, the Jains bought smaller diamonds, or diamond dust, and sent them to Surat and Navsari where they could get them cut and polished from high-skilled but cheap labour. Few in Antwerp would bother to cut or polish such small diamonds. The processed diamonds were then shipped back to Antwerp and sold there and in other European cities.
Once the Palanpuri Jains started thriving in this business, and siblings and cousins made a beeline for Antwerp, creating a sizable immigrant community there, it was only a matter of time before they would edge out the Hasidic Jews to gain control of the whole trade.
How did the Palanpuri Jains succeed in Antwerp?
The disdain for small gemstones among the leading diamond dealers was due to the fact that the global demand was primarily centered on larger stones. The tenacity and distinctive organization of the Jains would, however, make that situation change very soon, writes Manuel A. Gómez, an Associate Professor of Law at the Florida International University, in a reasearch article. In the small diamonds business, the Jains controlled every step of the process, from the delivery of the stones, which was done by trusted couriers known as angadias, to the cutting, polishing, grading, and distribution of diamonds back into the market.
The Palanpuri Jains developed a high-quality/low-cost manufacturing process and a forceful distribution network that ignited the global market for small diamonds, writes Gómez. And by the end of the twentieth century, the Palanpuri Jains of Antwerp came to have a grip over the global diamond trade.
GIAPPONE – NEL 2022 IL MERCATO DI GIOIELLERIA SUPERA I 1.000 MILIARDI DI YEN
(ICE) – ROMA, 6 APR – Stando a un’indagine condotta dalla Japan Jewellery Association, nel 2022 il valore stimato delle vendite al dettaglio di gioielli del mercato giapponese è stato pari a1.227 miliardi di Yen (8, 6 miliardi di Euro) (+6,3% su base annua), superando i 1.000 miliardi di Yen per la prima volta dal 2008.
In termini di prodotti, i gioielli con diamanti (valore in aumento del 7,9%, volume in aumento dell’8,3% rispetto all’anno precedente), i gioielli con pietre colorate e i gioielli in oro hanno registrato una crescita sia in termini di valore che di volume, mentre i gioielli con perle hanno registrato un leggero aumento in termini di valore e una leggera diminuzione in termini di volume.
In base ai canali di vendita, i grandi magazzini (+22,2% su base annua) e la grande distribuzione (+14,3% su base annua ) hanno registrato una crescita a due cifre. (ICE TOKYO)
WATCHES AND WONDERS FA IL PIENO DI VISITATORI
(ICE) – ROMA, 4 APR – Ha chiuso ieri i battenti Watches and Wonders, la fiera dell’orologeria di Ginevra. Stando a quanto comunicato dagli organizzatori l’evento, durato sette giorni, ha attirato circa 43’000 persone, molte più delle 22’000 dell’anno prima, quando le restrizioni Covid avevano impedito a molti interessati – soprattutto asiatici – di raggiungere la città sul Lemano. In totale, 48 marchi hanno presentato i loro prodotti e le loro innovazioni nei padiglioni del Palexpo di Ginevra. Tra questi, quelli appartenenti a Richemont, quali Cartier, IWC e Piaget, come pure ad esempio Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard, Hublot e Tag Heuer. Oltre agli operatori del ramo e agli altri invitati alla fiera erano presenti circa 1400 rappresentanti dei media. Il salone è stato anche aperto al pubblico durante il fine settimana: i 12’000 biglietti messi a disposizione a tale scopo – un numero volutamente limitato – sono stati esauriti con largo anticipo. La prossima edizione è prevista per la primavera del 2024: le date precise non sono però ancora note. (ICE BERNA)
GOVT PERMITS 16K-ODD JEWELLERS TO SELL “DECLARED” OLD GOLD HALLMARKED STOCK TILL June-end
(ICE) – ROMA, 4 APR – A day ahead of the sale of gold jewellery having mandatory hallmarking with six-digit alphanumeric HUID coming into force, the government on Friday gave another three months time till June-end to 16,000-odd jewellers to sell the “declared” old hallmarked gold jewellery stock that existed prior to July 2021. A gazette notification in this regard has been issued by the nodal consumer affairs ministry after a recent meeting with jewellery and the sector expert bodies.
As per the notification, the ministry has amended the Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery and Gold Artefacts Order, 2020 and allowed only those jewellers who declared their old stock — having an old hallmarking mark — to clear those articles before June 30, 2023.
“Provided that if any person had already given declaration as required by the Bureau under sub-section 4 of section 18 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (11 of 2016) declaring his old stock of gold jewellery or gold artefacts with old hallmarking as existed prior to July 1, 2021, such person shall be permitted to sell or display or offer to sell such declared stock of gold jewellery or gold artefacts up to June 30, 2023,” the notification said.
Speaking to PTI, additional secretary in the ministry Nidhi Khare said there are 1.56 lakh registered jewellers in the country, out of which, 16,243 jewellers had on July 1 this year disclosed their old hallmarked jewellery.
“About 16243 jewellers, who had disclosed old hallmarked jewellery on 1.7.2023, have been given a final extension of 3 months,” she said.
This is the final deadline and no more extension of time will be given to clear the old stock, she added.
Khare said the rest of the registered jewellers will be selling gold jewellery with the 6-digit alpha numerical HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) mark from April 1.
Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal. The six-digit HUID number was introduced from July 1, 2021.
Prior to the introduction of the HUID number, hallmarking of gold jewellery consisted of four marks — BIS logo, purity of the articles as well as logo of jeweller and Assaying and Hallmarking Centre.
But the six-digit HUID hallmarking comprises only three marks — BIS logo, purity of the article and six-digit alphanumeric HUID.
The simultaneous sale of hallmarked gold jewellery with and without a six-digit HUID number was creating confusion and the government set April 1 deadline for all jewellers to compulsorily implement the six-digit HUID number.
As per section 49 of Bureau of Indian Standards Rules, 2018, if hallmarked jewellery purchased by the consumer is found to be of lesser purity than that marked on jewellery, then the buyer/customer will be entitled for compensation which will be two times the amount of difference calculated on the basis of shortage of purity for the weight of such article sold and the testing charges.
India is the world’s largest consumer of gold jewellery and imports about 700-800 tonnes annually.
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/-jewellery/govt-permits-16k-odd-jewellers-to-sell-declared-old-gold-hallmarked-stock-till-june-end/articleshow/99151865.cms
(ICE MUMBAI)
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