Economic Bulletin

Rough diamond imports fell 18 percent to $37 million, while rough exports more than doubled to $42 million, leaving a rough import deficit of $5 million compared with a surplus of $25 million one year earlier. The average price per carat for rough imports jumped 160 percent to $2,462.


First-quarter polished diamond imports rose 26 percent to $5.16 billion and polished exports surged 40 percent to $4.33 billion.

Meanwhile, rough imports for the first three months of 2011 jumped 44 percent to $174 million and rough exports more than doubled to $105 million, leaving net imports of $69 million or exactly the same amount as posted one year earlier.

The net diamond account for the U.S. in the first quarter dropped 15 percent to $900 million.

Israel’s Polished Exports Fall Sharply
Israel’s polished diamond exports fell 47 percent year on year to $256.1 million in April, according to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rough exports grew 7 percent to $249.1 million.

Combined imports of rough and polished diamonds rose 32 percent to $739.7 million during the month. CBS did not provide separate rough and polished diamond import data.

During the first four months of the year, polished exports grew 24 percent to $2.41 billion, while rough exports increased 32 percent to $1.4 billion. Total imports for that period were up 35 percent to $3.13 billion.

India’s Polished Exports Up
India’s polished diamond exports rose 6 percent year on year to $2.04 billion in April 2011, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported. By volume, exports fell 8 percent to 4.945 million carats as the average price of these goods increased 15 percent to $411.57 per carat.

Polished imports grew 16 percent to $1.48 billion, whereas net polished exports, representing exports less imports, dropped 16 percent to $552.8 million.

Rough imports rose 36 percent year on year to $1.31 billion, while rough exports rose 20 percent to $94.9 million. Net rough imports — the excess of imports over exports, indicating the amount of goods that remained in the country for manufacturing — grew 38 percent to $1.22 billion.

India’s April net diamond account, representing total exports of polished and rough less total imports, fell to a deficit of $666.9 million, compared with a deficit of only $230.7 million in April 2010.

Belgium’s Polished Exports Soar
Belgium’s polished diamond exports rose 45 percent year on year to $1.01 billion in April, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported. Exports grew 29 percent to $672.8 million and the average price increased 13 percent to $1,501.56 per carat.
Polished imports rose 43 percent to $1 billion and Belgium’s net polished exports, representing the extent to which exports exceeded imports, rose to $1.9 million from a deficit of $6.8 million one year ago. Belgium’s rough imports fell 5 percent to $857.3 million, while rough exports jumped 26 percent to $1.13 billion.

Net rough imports, representing the excess of imports over exports, declined to a deficit of $271.6 million compared with a rough surplus of $6.5 million in April 2010.

During the first four months of the year, Belgium’s polished exports rose 33 percent to $4.44 billion, while polished imports increased 30 percent to $4.21 billion. Net polished exports grew 145 percent to $231.9 million. Rough imports grew 28 percent to $4.24 billion and rough exports increased 28 percent to $4.65 billion. Net rough exports fell 29 percent to a deficit of $416.2 million.

Belgium’s net diamond account for January through April surged 55 percent to $648.1 million.

Botswana’s Diamond Exports Jump
The Bank of Botswana (BoB) reported that Botswana’s diamond exports rose 51 percent year on year for March to $463 million, representing the strongest month since before the recession. Exports during the first quarter rose 34 percent year on year to $1.04 billion.

The bank’s data is a representative sample of the country’s full diamond trade and is sourced from the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB), Leo Schachter Botswana and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Namdeb’s 2010 Rough Sales Surge
Namdeb Diamond Corporation reported a 12 percent increase in the number of carats sold in 2010. Without citing exact figures, the company said it achieved a 58 percent increase in production, which, based on Rapaport calculations, would come to approximately 1.46 million carats. Namdeb reported that diamond revenue jumped 49 percent, which would amount to approximately $669 million, according to Rapaport calculations.

Namdeb reported that profits before tax (PBT) surged to $229 million (NAD 1.5 billion) compared with the loss of $84 million (NAD 555 million) posted in 2009, Namdeb’s managing director, Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, described fiscal year 2010 as “extraordinary” considering that the global economy was in recovery mode. “We remain cautiously optimistic about the diamond market generally. Continued positive growth is expected, albeit at a lower rate,” she added.

Charles & Colvard’s Sales Up
Charles & Colvard reported first-quarter sales of $2.98 million, a year-on-year increase of 4 percent for the three months that ended on March 31, 2011. However, the creator of moissanite reported a net loss of $236,388 compared with a profit of $298,385 posted one year earlier.

Loose moissanite gemstone sales were relatively flat in the first quarter of 2011, but finished jewelry sales increased 130 percent year on year to $410,000. The company said its net loss resulted from expenses relating to new business initiatives.

Randy N. McCullough, chief executive officer (CEO), explained that traditionally, the majority of the company’s quarterly revenue was derived from the sale of loose moissanite to distributors and jewelry manufacturers. However, the company made a strategic decision to boost its jewelry manufacturing activities and finished jewelry sales as a percentage of the company’s total revenues.

Sarin’s Revenues, Profits Fall
Sarin Technologies Ltd. reported a 9.6 percent year-on-year decrease in revenue to $12.3 million for its first quarter that ended on March 31. Profits fell 25 percent to $3.3 million during the period. India represented the strongest sector, with $9.4 million in sales, a drop of 15 percent year on year, followed by Africa, with sales of $1.1 million, a 20 percent gain. Sales in Europe jumped 36 percent to $437,000, but fell 15 percent in North America to $212,000.

Sarin plans to focus its efforts on leveraging Galatea technology and developing its Strategist product. Sarin hopes to launch its Light Performance Technology-derived products later this year.