Floods Hit Indian Diamond Operations

More than a week of incessant rain has taken its toll on the Indian diamond sector with flooding at many polishing factories in Surat, the country's polishing center, and disruption of courier services between the city and Mumbai.

The effect of the heavy seasonal rains on diamond manufacturers is still unclear, although some diamantaires are talking of as many as 25 percent of polishing plants in Surat being affected, some forced to close.

The situation in Navsari is said to be worse, although its diamond polishing operations are much fewer than Surat's, which accounts for around 80 percent of India's polished production.

The downpours have made road and rail transport difficult and, in some cases, all but impossible, holding up rough diamond deliveries to Surat and the return of polished to Mumbai. Surat is several hours by train and road from Mumbai.

"The problem is that many diamond polishing firms are on the ground floors of buildings so their premises have been flooded and equipment badly damaged," said a diamantaire. "It's difficult to quantify but some people are talking about 20-25 percent of polishing firms in Surat being hit, while others even talk of a figure as high as 30 percent."