India Exports $9.4 Billion of Polished Diamonds in H1 2012

(IDEX Online News) – India exported $1.45 billion worth of polished diamonds in June, rising 16.5 percent compared to May. The increase is a surprising one, considering that large exports were expected in May, ahead of the Las Vegas show.

Compared to June 2011, before the Indian government decided to curb the practice of round-tripping, polished diamond exports suffered a 34.9 percent year-over-year decline, based on figures released by the GJEPC.

The June exports carried an average value of $667.78 per carat. This is an untypically high figure, especially when the volume of exports declined 15.7 percent to 2.2 million carats.

In the first six months of 2012, India exported 17.6 million carats of polished diamonds worth $9.36 billion.

Imports in June totaled $271.1 million, a 39.5 percent month-over-month increase, as many goods were brought into the country following the Las Vegas shows.

Compared to June 2011, imports sank 84.6 percent.

The average value of imports shot upwards 37.4 percent to $415.13 p/c.

In the first half of 2012, India's gross imports totaled $3.14 billion.