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Israel's Diamond Trade Slows in 2016
Jan 3, 2017 10:41 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Israel’s polished diamond exports declined in 2016 even as sentiment improved in December.
Outbound shipments of polished dropped 6.4 percent to $4.68
billion during the year, the nation’s Ministry of Economy
and Industry reported. Exports to the U.S., its largest trade partner, slid 9 percent to $2 billion, while
shipments to Hong Kong fell 8 percent to $1.35 billion. Orders from Belgium
slumped 16 percent to $349 million.
Polished imports fell 6
percent to $3.28 billion. Net polished exports, representing exports minus
imports, fell 8 percent to $1.39 billion.
While the downward trend and slowing of trading activity continued for most of 2016, the first signs of recovery appeared toward the end of the year, said Shmuel Mordechai, Israel’s diamond
controller (pictured). The industry’s agreement with the Israel Tax Authority in December helped improve sentiment, he added.
Rough trading showed a
more positive trend, with imports rising 17 percent to $3.25 billion. Rough
exports jumped 23 percent to $2.7 billion, leaving net rough imports 7 percent lower at $544 million.
Israel’s net diamond
account, the difference between net imports of rough and net exports of
polished, declined 8 percent to $849 million for the year.
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Tags:
Belgium, diamond controller, Hong Kong, imports and exports, Israel, Ministry of Economy and Industry, net diamond account, polished diamond exports, Rapaport News, Shmuel Mordechai, trade data, u.s.
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