Israel Polished Exports Jump 186.6% in June (Updated)
July 06, 10
Israel’s polished net export of polished diamonds totaled $457.8 million in June according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. This represented a massive leap of 158.6 percent over June 2009. By volume, the increase was no less impressive; polished exports shot up 119.2 percent to reach a net of 280,555.83 carats.
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For the first half of the year, net polished exports rose 91.7 percent by value and 62.8 percent in volume over 2009 figures. For the six months from January to June, net exports totaled just over $3 billion in value and 1.657 million carats in volume.
In terms of polished diamond imports, Israel took in diamonds worth $389.2 million. This was an impressive jump of 92.7 percent over 2009’s figures when imports totaled $202 million.
From January to June, net polished imports stood at $1.88 billion, an increase of 105.2 percent over the prior year period. In terms of value, imports totaled 1.403 billion carats, a 61.4 percent leap over 2009.
In a press release issued by the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI), the Diamond Controller, Shmuel Mordechai, said that the second quarter of 2010 showed a significant improvement over the first quarter, when polished exports rose by 55 percent over 2009.
Moti Ganz, chairman of the IDI, said that he was pleased with the recovery shown by the figures. “We are not surprised by the statistics, since the Israeli diamond industry is experiencing a pronounced upturn in activity. We are confident that the Israeli industry will continue to grow. We look forward to a return to our previous levels of activity.”
Eli Avidar, IDI managing director, said in the release that IDI was actively supporting the industry through marketing initiatives, trade shows and outreach to new and developing markets, such as China and India. “We see a rise in interest and participation in our activities. We are continually seeking new opportunities to promote the growth of the Israeli Diamond Industry.”