Kolkata: With the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) coming into force from June 1, eastern India’s first consignment of gold jewellery, valued at around Rs 4.5 crore, was shipped from Kolkata to Muscat on Thursday. The CEPA agreement has allowed duty-free access for Indian gold jewellery and diamonds in the Omani market.Oman has a very high demand for hand-crafted jewellery from Bengal.“There was an import duty of 5% in Oman earlier. That duty was removed in the CEPA and paved the way for a major boost in the gold jewellery export from Bengal,” said Pankaj Parekh, regional chairman (east) of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).India’s export of gems and jewellery to Oman stands at around $35 million now. Of that, almost $10 million is in gold jewellery exports. Industry insiders felt that exports to Oman could increase to nearly $150 million over the next three years due to improved market access and growing demand for Indian jewellery.“The consignment comprises a number of items including necklaces, bangles and rings. The duty reduction is a huge boost to the hand-crafted gold jewellery industry in Bengal as it opens up a wide market for the artisans,” said Anil Puri of Wonder Jewels.According to city jewellers, there are around 80 companies which export gold jewellery to overseas markets and more than 90% is destined for Dubai. “So far, the shipment for our jewellery was sent via Dubai to Oman. But the duty-free access to Omani markets after CEPA has opened a huge market for Indian products. We are expecting Oman to be a hub for sourcing Bengal’s jewellery to Europe, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq,” said Parekh.
