India’s polished-diamond exports slumped 39% year on year to $1.32 billion in April, according to recent data from the country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The trade has seen declines in polished exports for three of the first four months of 2023, as the US and China consumer markets have slowed. Rough imports and exports increased in April.
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.
Main image: Diamond merchants examine diamonds on the streets of Mahidharpura, Surat. (Shutterstock)
