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  • According to data from the GJEPC, trade in India was down across the board comparing April to July figures in 2024 to the same period in the previous year:

    • Overall exports of gems & jewellery declined 11% to US$9.7bn
    • Overal imports of gems & jewellery declined 1.5% to nearly US$7bn
    • Imports of rough diamonds declined 16% to US$4.3bn
    • Exports of polished diamonds declined 19% to US$5.7bn
    • Exports of polished lab-grown diamonds declined nearly 7% to US$414.6m

    Notably in July, comparing to July 2023:

  • In an extensive analysis, Rapaport's Joshua Freedman takes stock of market sentiment in India and the US. While Indian manufacturers are feeling the pinch of bloated inventories, weak demand and sharp declines in polished prices, struggling to sell even at reduced prices, US traders have more flexibility in aligning supply to actual demand, Rapaport states.

  • Times of India reports representatives of India's diamond industry have asked government to come up with a payment system that would facilitate transactions between India and Russia. According to the report Indian traders now conduct payments in ruble or yuan through Dubai and China, as US$ payments are heavily restricted due to Western sanctions and currency conversions from rupee to ruble are much more difficult. 

    Photo credit: Envato Elements

  • About 100 units in India's LGD growing and manufacturing industry have voted to observe a 15-day summer holiday starting May 15, hoping to control the rough and polished LGD supply and stopping the massive price drops seen in the LGD market. Traditionally, the (natural) diamond industry closes shop for a holiday period during Diwali.

  • Amid the threat of a looming financial recession for the diamond sector in Surat, the GJEPC now seeks a new series of policies they believe will add to manufacturing revenues. This has been another of a late series of attempts by the GJEPC to counter-act the pressures facing India’s diamond sector since the decline of Russian imports and the closure of the Chinese marketplace. 

  • India’s gem and jewellery exports have seen an increase of 8.26 percent in the current financial year, thanks in part to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The Indian government has taken several steps to support the gem and jewellery industry, including the implementation of a simplified regulatory framework for exports through e-commerce, reduced duties for the import of diamonds and a new gold monetization policy.

  • India’s Ministry of Finance has amended the ‘Exports by Post’ Regulations 2018 respectively for allowing postal authorities to set up, operate and maintain the PBE (Postal Bill of Export) Automated System for filing of electronic declaration for export of goods through Post.

  • Unconfirmed sources say India is planning to lower the much criticized import tax on polished diamonds and gemstones from 7,5% to 5%, as this was mentioned during the budget speech by India's Finance Minister. 

    To give a boost to the gems and jewellery sector, customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones has been reduced to 5 percent. "Simply sawn diamond would attract nil customs duty. To facilitate export of jewellery through e-commerce, a simplified regulatory framework shall be implemented by June this year," the finance minister said, according to Moneycontrol. 

  • It was a matter of time before someone would do it, and diamond-studded face masks are the latest craze in India, Times of India reports. One jeweler came up with the idea when he had to create jewelry for a wedding and created the sparkling face masks for both bride and groom.

    Photo credit: Envato Elements

  • Concern about the impact of the coronavirus on the diamond and jewelry trade is growing, not only in China, but also in the markets that supply China, like Hong Kong and India. Events have been concelled, retail sales have plummeted and the outbreak of the virus in China has already had a ripple effect on diamond supply chains as the death toll passes 1,000. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.