Drop in Japan's Polished Diamond Imports

(IDEX Online News) – Japan's imports of polished diamonds took a turn for the worse in April, declining 7 percent year-over-year and 22.8 percent compared to March of this year. Imports totaled $56.7 million in April.

The surprise decline follows a year long of rising imports, disturbed only once in January, based on figures released by Momozawa & Co., Inc.

The volume of imports, 121,365 carats, declined (23.7%) compared to April 2011 and (17.5%) month-over-month.

Imports from Belgium, Hong Kong and the U.S. were cut back. Conversely, imports from India, Israel and Thailand have increased.

The figures also reveal a revision in the imports of April 2011. The revised import values are some 36 percent lower than previously stated.