'India, SA should mutually share growth of jewellery sector'

New Delhi, Sep 12 (UNI) Terming South Africa as the future jewellery capital, a sector that is a key driver of its growth, India today said that it can mutually share the growth prospects with the country in the gems and jewellery sector.

''In India there are five million people engaged in this trade and nearly 300,000 retailers,'' CEO Gold Souk, a jewellery mall under Aerens group G S Pillai said in an interactive session with the Deputy President of South Africa Ms Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka organised by FICCI here.

Around 700 tonnes of jewellery is being produced in our country while nine out of every ten diamonds processed in India, Mr Pillai said adding that the joint efforts of South Africa and India can boost the bilateral trade between them and is expected to cross 12 billion dollar by the end of 2010.

To emerge as a leader in the jewellery sector, there is a need of a strong domestic market, inexpensive workforce, modern technology, better infrastructure and a concentrated focus on exports of these products, Mr Pillai added.

He further said the gems and jewellery sector is emerging as a tremendous source of employment and needs skilled manpower and thus training institutes are neccessary to train artisans and designers about the modern manufacturing techniques.

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