Israel's Polished Trading Surges Again

RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond exports rose sharply in May as the global industry continued to recover and polished prices climbed, according to government data.Polished shipments after returns more than tripled to $264.2 million from $75 million a year earlier, reflecting a rebound from the 2020 coronavirus crisis, the Ministry of Economy and Industry reported Tuesday.Israel has almost entirely returned to normal following a successful vaccination drive, enabling the diamond trade to capitalize on buoyant retail demand in the US and China. May "continued the meteoric growth trend that we have witnessed in the Israeli diamond industry in recent months," said Ophir Gore, the nation's diamond controller."The Israeli diamond industry has many reasons to remain optimistic, among the main ones being the recovery of the global diamond industry, price increases, and the inventory reduction at the major mining companies, especially De Beers and Alrosa," Gore continued.Polished-export volume leaped to 110,671 carats from 37,294 carats, while the average price jumped 19% to $2,387 per carat, the figures showed.Polished imports soared more than sevenfold to $274.7 million from $38.6 million a year before. Rough imports surged 595% to $161.1 million, with rough exports rising to $137.9 million from $12.2 million in May 2020. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), with which Israel reached a peace deal last year, accounted for 6.5% of rough exports and 11.5% of rough imports in May.For the first five months of the year, polished exports advanced 68% year on year to $1.41 billion, while rough imports more than doubled to $755.5 million from $303.3 million in the same period of 2020.Image: The Israel Diamond Exchange trading floor, February 2016. (Shutterstock)