Polished Diamond Exports from Israel Climb 15%

Israel’s net polished diamond exports continued to rise in September, up 15 percent to $580 million, while polished exports since January are up 20 percent, totaling $4.902 billion.

Israel’s polished diamond imports in September declined 12 percent to $300 million from $341 million last September, the only import/export category that showed a fall.

Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai notes that the rise in exports came despite the many Jewish holidays celebrated in Israel during the past month that slowed local trade.

Exports to the U.S. continued to lead, amounting to 60 percent of total exports – an 18 percent increase since the start of the year, followed by Hong Kong with a 23 percent share - greatly helped by exports ahead of the Hong Kong show.