India’s polished-diamond exports slid 33% year on year to $1.6 billion in March, according to recent data from the country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Rough imports also fell, reflecting a slowdown in the global industry.
Sources: Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Rapaport archives
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: Gateway to India, Mumbai. (Shutterstock)