India Trading Still Down, but Decline Eases

RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports fell 26% year on year to $1.22 billion in August, a gentler decline than in previous months, as overseas jewelry demand improved, the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported."We have witnessed initial signs of recovery from markets like the US, China [and] Europe," GJEPC chairman Colin Shah said earlier this week. "Export orders have seen a steady rise month on month over the last four to five months. All the gems and jewelry export units are working in full swing, and the trade is getting back to normalcy."Shipments were almost zero in April as demand collapsed and Indian manufacturing slowed due to the coronavirus. Figures steadily increased as markets reopened over the subsequent months, with polished exports down 41% year on year to $3.94 billion in the five months from April to August, the council noted.Around half of Surat's nearly 7,000 diamond-manufacturing units are now operational, with polished production at about 70% of capacity, the GJEPC said in an update last week.India's polished imports climbed 58% to $179.2 million in August. The country is expected to release rough-diamond data in the coming days.Image: Bharat Diamond Bourse. (Rapaport News)