Israel’s diamond shipments weakened in March amid a global market slowdown, the country’s Ministry of Economy and Industry reported this week.
In an unusual occurrence, polished exports saw a deficit of $123.7 million on a net basis for the month, as diamond returns exceeded outbound shipments, the data showed. This probably reflected the reimport of goods following the Hong Kong shows, which took place at the beginning of March, the government explained.
A year earlier, polished exports were $498.6 million in surplus on the same net basis, which is calculated by deducting items that were returned to Israel. By volume, exports slumped 76% year on year to 41,958 carats.
Polished imports fell 4% to $297.3 million. Rough exports dropped 60% to $71.1 million, with rough imports down 68% at $69.3 million. Polished exports for the first quarter slid 36% year on year to $838 million.
“The global downward trend in diamond trading can be seen in the first-quarter data for this year and comes as no surprise,” the ministry said, citing Ophir Gore, Israel’s diamond controller, who regulates the industry. “Still, we estimate that toward the middle of the year, we will see the negative trend shift in a positive direction due to the reopening of the Chinese market and eagerness to compensate for the pandemic period.”
Image: Ramat Gan, where Israel’s diamond district is located. (Shutterstock)
