Japan’s Imports of Polished Diamonds Dive a Record 30.8% in April

Japan imported $45.85 million worth of polished diamonds in April of this year, a 30.8 percent decline compared to April 2008, according to data published by The J Club Inc. This is the largest year-over-year decrease in the value of Japan’s polished diamond imports in a several years.

In volume, Japan imported just 184,369 carats, a 30.5 percent year-over-year decline.

While the weakness in imports is pronounced, the average value of imports is almost without change, $248.67 per carat, a marginal 0.5 percent decline compared to April 2008. This indicates that while demand has weakened, those who do buy diamond jewelry are not “shopping down.”

April is usually a slower month in terms of the value of imports, however we are witnessing a level of decline that has not been seen in years.

Imports from India fell 37.6 percent to $17.38 million, averaging $125 p/c, imports from Belgium dropped 44.7 percent to $10.22 million averaging $1,207 p/c and imports from Israel, Japan’s third largest supplier of polished diamonds, slumped “just” 24.6 percent with an average value of $1,049 p/c.

In terms of volume, despite the sharp overall decline in imports, the three largest suppliers by volume - India, Hong Kong and China - have increased their shipments by 4.8 percent, 8.9 percent and 20.4 percent respectively.

China is slowly becoming a leading supplier of cheaper goods. The average value of imports from China in April stood at $178 p/c.

Source: The J Club Inc While the import trend remains constant over the years, the level of polished diamond imports is far below 'regular' levels as the graph shows