India Polished Exports Drop Ahead of Holidays
India’s polished-diamond exports declined 4% year on year to $1.25 billion in November, according to recent data from the country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). A slump in volume outweighed a strengthening of the average export price.
India Trade Data for November 2022
| November 2022 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $1.25B | -4% |
| Polished imports | $112M | -7% |
| Net polished exports | $1.14B | -4% |
| Rough imports | $1.33B | 24% |
| Rough exports | $42M | -45% |
| Net rough imports | $1.29B | 30% |
| Net diamond account | -$152M | 2021: Surplus of $188M |
| Polished exports: volume | 1.4 million carats | -23% |
| Average price of polished exports | $915/carat | 25% |
| January-November 2022 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $21.58B | -1% |
| Polished imports | $1.31B | -24% |
| Net polished exports | $20.27B | 1% |
| Rough imports | $16.96B | 8% |
| Rough exports | $748M | -2% |
| Net rough imports | $16.21B | 9% |
| Net diamond account | $4.06B | -23% |
| Polished exports: volume | 23.4 million carats | -20% |
| Average price of polished exports | $922/carat | 23% |
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: Diamond cutters in Surat, India, in 2015. (Shutterstock)
