Israel’s 2007 Polished Diamond Exports Rise 7% to $7.076 Bln

Israel’s net polished diamond exports totaled $7.076 billion in 2007, growing a healthy 7 percent compared to 2006. Of the total exports, 53 percent were shipped to the U.S., a market that suffered from a tough economic year.

Exports to the U.S. totaled $3.371 billion. Hong Kong, the second leading destination, received $1.31 billion worth of goods, or 19 percent of total polished diamond exports.

Exports to Belgium totaled $562 million, followed by exports of $429 million to Switzerland and $109 million to India.

Polished diamond imports were also on the upswing, rising 1.3 percent to $4.558 billion in 2007.

According to Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai, who heads the unit in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor that collects and publishes Israel’s diamond trade data, 2007 was a challenging year globally. Despite that, 2007 was a record year, with exports of polished and rough diamonds exceeding $12 billion.

Mordechai noted that the effort to export goods increased considerably, evident from the number of returns – more than 50 percent.

The ministry is expected to release carat figures later in the day.