Indian Companies Charter Plane to Export $66m of Diamonds to Hong Kong

(IDEX Online) - India's first consignments of polished diamonds since lockdown have been despatched, valued at over $66m.

Two batches - of 12 and 17 parcels - were sent on private chartered flights from Surat to Mumbai because there are no passenger or cargo flights.

From there they were exported to Hong Kong to fulfil online orders, according to Times of India reports.

The country's vast inventory of polished stones, as much as $5bn worth, has effectively been locked in since the coronavirus lockdown came into force on 25 March.

Ramkrishna Export (SRK) was named as one of several companies that sent gems from Surat, the country's cut and polish capital to Mumbai late last week, after central government relaxed guidelines for industry.

The diamonds were sent through the Surat Hira Bourse as the Bharat Diamond Bourse, in Mumbai, is closed.