Mumbai: India’s exports of polished diamonds dropped 18.3% last month, as rough imports plummeted 43% in the month from a year earlier, according to information released by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

In volume terms, the drop was 14.4 percent with the country exporting 2.80 million carats last month versus 3.26 million carats a year earlier.

The impact of an industry slowdown was evident in the country’s import figures. Overall gross imports of gems & jewelry was down 29.8 percent to $ 2.27 billion last month as compared to $3.24 billion for the same period last year.