Volume of India’s Rough Diamond Trade Declines, Yet Its Value Rises

(IDEX Online News) – India imported $1.32 billion worth of rough diamonds in April, according to figures released by the GJEPC. Providing proof of escalating rough diamond prices, the value of imports increased by 36.2% despite a 27.5% drop in the volume of imports.

The volume of the country’s April rough imports is 9.98 million carats, compared to 13.8 million imported in April 2010.

The average value of imports - which include gem, near gem and industrial grade goods - increased to $131.71 p/c, up 87.9% from the $70.08 p/c average just one year ago.

Rough diamond exports from India totaled $94.9 million, a 20.1% increase. The volume of exports, 2.5 million carats, is just 3.3% more than exported in April 2010.