Polished diamond imports to the U.S. rose 35 percent year on year to $1.65 billion in July, according to data published by the Commerce Department. By volume, polished imports increased 29 percent as their average price grew 5 percent to $1,269.78 per carat.
The country’s polished exports were up 35 percent to $1.18 billion, while its net polished imports, representing the excess of imports over exports, gained by 34 percent to $467 million.
Rough imports to the U.S. jumped 57 percent year over year to $36 million during the month as rough exports grew 22 percent to $11 million and net rough imports rose 79 percent to $25 million. The U.S. net diamond account for July, representing total polished and rough imports, increased 36 percent to $492 million.
During the first seven months of the year, polished imports to the U.S. rose 58 percent to $10.46 billion, while polished exports increased 55 percent to $7.86 billion. Net polished imports were up 71 percent to $2.59 billion. Rough imports gained by 95 percent year on year to $302 million, while rough exports increased 46 percent to $161 million. Net rough imports more than tripled to $141 million for the year to date. The U.S. net diamond account for January to July rose 75 percent to $2.74 billion.
Israel’s Polished Exports Jump
Israel’s polished diamond exports surged 88 percent year on year to $340 million in August 2010, according to data published by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rough exports increased 84 percent to $221.6 million. Total imports of rough and polished diamonds rose 36 percent year over year to $583.4 million during the month.
Israel’s net diamond account, measuring the extent to which total polished and rough exports exceeded total imports, reflected a deficit of $21.8 million, indicating that the country was a net importer of diamonds during the month. The net diamond account for the comparable period of last year stood at a deficit of $127.7 million.
During the first eight months of the year, Israel’s polished exports increased 76 percent to $3.81 billion, while its rough exports grew 87 percent to $2.09 billion. Total rough and polished imports rose 87 percent year on year to $4.91 billion. From January through August, Israel was a net exporter of diamonds with a net diamond account of $3.28 billion versus last year’s deficit of $1.64 billion.
Japan’s Polished Imports Increase
Japan’s polished diamond imports were up 20 percent year on year to $56.6 million in July 2010, according to data published by Momozawa & Co., based on information obtained from the country’s Customs Bureau at the Ministry of Finance. By volume, polished imports increased 18 percent to 183,746 carats as their average price grew 2 percent to $308 per carat.
Imports to Israel rose 50 percent year over year to $6.9 million during the month, while Japan’s polished imports to India grew 15 percent to $22.9 million and those to Belgium were up 9 percent to $12.7 million.
Japan’s gold jewelry imports increased 27 percent year on year to $51.1 million for the month, while its platinum jewelry imports were down 2 percent to $28.9 million. Pearl imports were up by 47 percent to $26.4 million.
Belgium’s Polished Exports Gain
Belgium’s polished diamond exports rose 25 percent year on year to $353.8 million in August, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Council (AWDC). By volume, polished exports increased 11 percent to 267,079.77 carats as their average price grew 13 percent to $1,324.80 per carat. Polished imports to Belgium jumped 31 percent year over year to $677.6 million as net polished exports, representing the excess of exports over imports, fell 39 percent to negative $323.7 million.
Belgium’s rough imports grew 52 percent to $781.8 million, while its exports rose 38 percent to $555 million. Net rough imports, representing the excess of imports over exports, doubled to $226.8 million. Belgium’s August net diamond account, which reflects total exports of polished and rough less total imports, dropped 59 percent year on year to negative $550.5 million, indicating that Belgium was a net importer during the month.
During the first eight months of the year, Belgium’s polished exports rose 29 percent to $6.82 billion, while by volume, they increased 3 percent to 4,712,688.46 carats. The average price of these exports grew 25 percent to $1,447.30 per carat for the period. Exports to the U.S., Belgium’s largest market for polished diamonds, gained by 38 percent to $2.02 billion, while exports to Hong Kong were up 33 percent to $1.42 billion. Polished exports to Israel grew 42 percent to $721.5 million and those to India increased by 49 percent to $478.4 million.
Polished imports for the year to date reflected a gain of 30 percent to $6.51 billion and net polished exports rose 17 percent to $308.3 million.Rough imports jumped 68 percent to $6.36 billion, while rough exports increased 69 percent to $7.24 billion. Net rough imports declined 78 percent to negative $877.4 million, indicating that Belgium was a net exporter of rough from January to August 2010.
India’s Polished Diamond Exports Climb
India’s polished diamond exports grew 37 percent year on year to $1.68 billion in July, according to provisional data published by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). By volume, polished exports increased 12 percent to 4.743 million carats as prices climbed 22 percent compared with last year to $354 per carat for the month.
The country’s polished imports rose 7 percent to $1.11 billion and net polished exports, which measure the excess of exports over imports, gained by 19 percent to $567.1 million. Rough imports increased 7 percent year over year to $942.3 million, while rough exports were up 54 percent to $63.4 million. Net rough imports, the excess of imports over exports, grew 9 percent to $878.9 million.
India’s July net diamond account, representing total exports of polished and rough less total imports, improved 6 percent but remained in a deficit of $311.9 million, indicating that the country was a net importer of diamonds in July.
Botswana’s Diamond Exports Fall
Botswana’s diamond exports fell 56 percent year on year to $126.1 million in July, according to data published by the Bank of Botswana (BoB). Exports through the first seven months of the year were up 31 percent to $1.54 billion.
The country’s diamond coordinator, Jacob Thamage, recently told Rapaport News that the diamond office is working on collecting official statistics from the country’s polishing sector. He noted that local factories purchased approximately $250 million worth of rough in the first half of the year, an amount that already exceeds the total posted for the full year of 2009.
Ghana’s Diamond Production Up
Ghana’s diamond production rose 14 percent year on year to 201,792 carats in the first half of 2010, as reported by Bloomberg in an article citing the Ghana Chamber of Mines. Revenues from the gems more than doubled to $6.9 million. Gold mining was the largest revenue source for the West African country’s mining sector, where output grew 3.5 percent to 1.46 million ounces, while sales gained by 31 percent to $1.68 billion during the six-month period.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2010. To subscribe click here.