According to preliminary data of the Indian Council for the Promotion of the Export of Precious Stones and Jewelry (GJEPC), in July 2014, Indian polished exports reached $ 1.85 billion (3,267,000 carats), down 11.19% from the same month last year , when 3,225,000 carats of diamonds worth $ 2.08 billion were exported.
Over the period from April to July 2014, India exported 11,637,000 carats of diamonds worth $ 7.5 billion, which is 10.95% lower than the corresponding figure for the previous year ( 12,541,000 carats of diamonds worth $ 8.42 billion).
Meanwhile, Indian rough diamond exports in July showed a 9.28% drop in value terms to $ 500.3 million (10,963,000 carats of diamonds) compared to exports of 16,555,000 carats of diamonds worth $ 551.48 million in July 2013 . By volume, the drop in exports in July was 33%.
Between April and July 2014, Indian imports of rough diamonds rose 14% year-on-year to $ 1.91 billion, compared to imports of $ 1.68 billion in the same period last year.
For the 1st fiscal quarter, rough imports showed an increase of 6.3% in value terms to $ 7.04 billion (54,098,000 carats of diamonds), compared to imports of $ 6.62 billion (60,182,000 carats) recorded for the period from April to July 2013. The volume of imports of diamonds for the period decreased by 10.11%.
Indian polished imports from April to July 2014 amounted to $ 2.13 billion, down by 6.05% compared to $ 2.27 billion in the same period last year. Imports of polished diamonds declined slightly in July to
$ 634.05 million, compared to $ 640.36 million in July 2013.
The fall in polished imports is due to measures taken by the Indian government to restrict imports and support the local diamond industry.