India saw a decline in rough and polished shipments in May as the global downturn continued. Polished exports fell 18% year on year to $1.72 billion, while rough imports dropped 19% to $1.17 billion, recent figures from the country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) showed.
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: A polished diamond under a worker’s finger. (Shutterstock)
