Israel’s Diamond Trade Marks Double Digit Recovery in 2010

Israel lost market share in the U.S. but increased exports to the East

(IDEX Online News) - Israel’s diamond exports mushroomed in 2010. Net polished diamond exports increased 48.1 percent to $5.832 billion and net rough diamond exports swelled 62.1 percent to $3.06 billion, according to just published figures.

Israeli diamond traders were buoyed by an improved economic environment, however they are still struggling to recover from the deep crisis. Evidence to that is that exports in 2010 are still below the level of exports in previous years.

Polished imports are 6.5 percent below these in 2008 and 17.5 percent compared to 2007, according to figures released by Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai. Rough exports are -8.3 percent compared to 2008 and -9.4 percent compared to 2007.

Israel imported $4.218 billion worth of polished and $3.755 billion worth of rough in 2010, increasing 68 percent and 50.6 percent respectively, compared to 2009.

As a lesson from crisis Israeli traders sought to diversify their destinations, decreasing their reliance on the American market and placing a growing focus on the East, mainly China and Hong Kong. One of the prices they paid was a loss of market share in the U.S. to Indian firms.

Mordechai expects the focus on the East to grow, saying, “More offices [of Israeli firms] will open in India, China, Hong Kong and the rest of the Far East in 2011.”

Some 41 percent of Israel’s exports, $2.403 billion, were to the U.S., another 25 percent ($1.487 billion) were exported to Hong Kong, 5 percent ($264 million) to India, 4 percent ($248 million) to Switzerland and 3 percent ($177 million) were to China.

Mordechai credited Benyamin Ben Eliezer, the minister of industry, trade and labor, for his efforts in improving Israel’s rough sourcing.