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India’s Shipments Drop Amid Diwali Closures

Dec 20, 2021 9:06 AM   By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... 
India’s polished-diamond exports saw their first year-on-year decline since October 2020 as trading slowed during the country’s Diwali festival this past November.

Shipments out of the country fell 21% to $1.3 billion last month, while rough imports also slipped, according to recent data from India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

The drop followed a sharp increase in October, which reflected strong US festival demand and a spike in activity ahead of Diwali.

A year earlier, the Indian manufacturing sector significantly curtailed the traditional Diwali break in response to growing demand following months of lockdowns and weak trading.

India Trade Data for November 2021

  November 2021 Year-on-year change
     
Polished exports $1.3B -21%
Polished imports $15M -84%
Net polished exports $1.29B -17%
Rough imports $1.04B -6%
Rough exports $77M 64%
Net rough imports $963M -10%
Net diamond account $325M -33%
Polished exports (volume) 1.8 million carats -23%
Average price of polished exports $732/carat 3%
     
  January-November 2021 Year-on-year change
     
Polished exports $22.06B 71%
Polished imports $1.62B -17%
Net polished exports $20.44B 86%
Rough imports $15.62B 100%
Rough exports $650M 33%
Net rough imports $14.97B 105%
Net diamond account $5.47B 50%
Polished exports (volume) 29.1 million carats 59%
Average price of polished exports $757/carat 7%


Source: 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.

Image: The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai. (Rapaport News)
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Tags: Diwali, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, GJEPC, India, net diamond account, net polished exports, Net rough imports, polished exports, polished imports, Rapaport News, rough exports, rough imports
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