RAPAPORT… India’s polished-diamond exports saw their first year-on-year decline since October 2020 as trading slowed during the country’s Diwali festival this past November.
Shipments out of the country fell 21% to $1.3 billion last month, while rough imports also slipped, according to recent data from India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
The drop followed a sharp increase in October, which reflected strong US festival demand and a spike in activity ahead of Diwali.
A year earlier, the Indian manufacturing sector significantly curtailed the traditional Diwali break in response to growing demand following months of lockdowns and weak trading.
India Trade Data for November 2021
| November 2021 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $1.3B | -21% |
| Polished imports | $15M | -84% |
| Net polished exports | $1.29B | -17% |
| Rough imports | $1.04B | -6% |
| Rough exports | $77M | 64% |
| Net rough imports | $963M | -10% |
| Net diamond account | $325M | -33% |
| Polished exports (volume) | 1.8 million carats | -23% |
| Average price of polished exports | $732/carat | 3% |
| January-November 2021 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $22.06B | 71% |
| Polished imports | $1.62B | -17% |
| Net polished exports | $20.44B | 86% |
| Rough imports | $15.62B | 100% |
| Rough exports | $650M | 33% |
| Net rough imports | $14.97B | 105% |
| Net diamond account | $5.47B | 50% |
| Polished exports (volume) | 29.1 million carats | 59% |
| Average price of polished exports | $757/carat | 7% |
About the data: India, the world’s largest diamond-cutting center, is a net importer of rough and a net exporter of polished. As such, net polished exports — representing polished exports minus polished imports — will usually be a positive number. Net rough imports — calculated as rough imports minus rough exports — will also generally be in surplus. The net diamond account is total rough and polished exports minus total imports. It is India’s diamond trade balance, and shows the added value the nation creates by manufacturing rough into polished.
Image: The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai. (Rapaport News)
Source: diamonds.net Rapaport
