Gems and jewellery exports from India are set to get credit insurance in the current financial year.
Global Trade Finance, a joint venture between the Germany-based WestLB of Washington, the Export & Import Bank of India and the International Finance Corporation, is currently working on a product that will offer export factoring services to plain gold and studded jewellery exporters.
The services, however, will not be extended to loose diamonds. "Gems and jewellery exporters do not get credit insurance because of the high risk attached to the products and their valuation. However, we are planning to introduce export factoring for the industry, which has shown ample scope for growth," said Veena Mankar, managing director, Global Trade Finance.
The gems and jewellery industry is the second-highest foreign exchange earner for India. It earns around US$8bn in foreign exchange for the country annually.