IDEX Online) - Exports of polished diamonds from India, the world's biggest producer, could fall by as much as a quarter, from $18.665bn in the year to March 2020.
Colin Shah, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, warned they could reach the lowest levels since the global depression of 2008/9.
India's diamond industry, which accounts for 90 per cent of gems cut and polished globally, is recovering from a series of lockdowns.
As many as 30 per cent of the 7,000 factories in Surat, the country's diamond capital, remain closed, and those that have re-opened are operating at reduced capacity because of the pandemic.
"In 2008, things were bad for a quarter and business recovered after that. This is now two quarters gone," said Mr Shah (pictured), according to a report on the Bloomberg financial news website.
Diwali, Christmas, Valentine's Day the lunar New Year and other festivals would make up some ground, but wouldn't adequately lift full-year exports, he said.