Event Offers Russian Retailers Production Outsourcing Options in India
October 29, 12
(IDEX Online News) – The second Indo-Russian jewelry ‘summit’ kicked off in Mumbai on Monday. A buyer-seller networking platform, the event features one-to-one interactions between 12 Russian distributors and retailers with access to 5,000 retail outlets in Russia and former Soviet-bloc countries, and 15 Indian jewelry manufacturers.
Considerable political and institutional weight has been thrown behind the event organized by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Vipul Shah, the GJEPC Chairman, said he hoped the event would lead to better understanding between both sides and growth in business.
Fully 13 of the 15 Indian participants are from Mumbai’s SEEPZ export zone and organizers announced that this was also an outsourcing opportunity for the Russians.
A SEEPZ relationship will enable Russian retailers to have jewelry designed and manufactured with their own raw materials and thus have a way around their country’s high tariff barrier to jewelry imports. Jewelry imports into Russia attract a 20 percent custom duty, an inspection levy of between 1- and 2 percent and VAT of 18 percent. Imported jewelry is thus some 42 percent more costly when it reaches the retailer.
With overseas firms able to fully own units in SEEPZ, Russians also had the opportunity to operate their own offshore production units at the export zone. SEEPZ Joint Development Commissioner Reshma Lakhani threw out an invitation to all players in the Indo-Russian event to fully leverage the advantages that the export zone offered.
Russian Deputy Consul-General Alexy Mzareulov observed that an initiative had been launched to counter technical problems like the issuance of visas and official clearances for diamond and jewelry dealers of both countries. He said that if players registered themselves online at the Russia-India Trade House, they would receive priority visa consideration and strong political backing for other trade-related issues.
A related version of this website would be available to Russian importers and retailers, Mzareulov said. He noted that the target of $20 billion in trade between the two countries that had been set by their respective leaders could only be achieved with the strong involvement of private players even in the small and medium enterprise (SME) category. This understanding was driving the Russian government initiative to promote trade between the two countries.
 Russian participants at the second Indo-Russian jewelry summit |