Mumbai: India’s polished diamond exports jumped 10.8 percent year on year to $1.559 billion in November, according to preliminary data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. By volume, exports rose 41.8 percent to 2.59 million carats. Polished imports, meanwhile, surged 124.9 percent to $882 million, leaving net exports down 5 percent at $677 million.
Rough imports rose 35.6 percent in November to $1.545 billion and rough exports increased 18.8 percent to $94.4 million. Net rough imports surged 36.9 percent $1.451 billion, leading to a net diamond account — the difference between net imports and net exports — with a deficit of $774 million compared with a deficit of $347 million one year earlier.
The country’s synthetic diamond trade proved quite volatile in November. Polished synthetic stone exports fell 39.6 percent to $4.3 million, while rough synthetic imports rose 4.7 percent to $6.3 million and rough exports fell 28.2 percent to $1 million.
During the first 11 months of the calendar year, India’s natural polished diamond exports improved 7.1 percent year on year to $20.758 billion, while polished imports grew 9.4 percent to $7.092 billion, leaving net exports up 5.9 percent to $13.666 billion.
India’s rough imports jumped 10 percent to $16.102 billion, while rough exports fell 17.3 percent to $1.389 billion, leaving net imports up 13.4 percent to $14.713 billion. The net diamond account for the first 11 months of the year fell deeper into a deficit at $1.047 billion compared with a deficit of only $73 million one year ago.
