Surat's diamond industry in trouble due to Russia-Ukraine war

New Delhi: Due to the ongoing war between Russia-Ukraine and the global economic crisis, the diamond industry of Surat is suffering a lot. So far, over 10,000 people have lost their jobs in Surat's diamond industry while production has declined by 20%.

9 out of every 10 diamonds sold in the world are cut, polished and processed in Surat. Russia is the largest source of rough diamonds in the world. Several countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia since February last year following the outbreak of war with Ukraine, which has affected imports of rough diamonds.

Surat's diamond industry has suffered a lot due to shortage of raw materials. Due to this, the demand of people for diamond cutting, polishing and processing has decreased and Surat's diamond industry is busy with layoffs.

People are facing many problems due to layoffs in diamond industry of Surat. After the war between Russia and Ukraine, the prices of oil, gas and coal have increased all over the world. This has led to an increase in inflation, which has affected diamond purchases.

The US, Europe and China are the largest buyers of Surat diamonds and demand for diamonds from these regions has declined due to prolonged high inflation rates. An interesting fact is that even after the reduction in processing and production of diamonds, their prices have not increased as the demand for them has decreased.

Because of this, the risk of more people losing their jobs in Surat's steel industry has increased. In the second half of 2022, after the rise in corona cases in China, more than 80 percent of the population was confined to homes, which further impacted the demand for diamonds.

China is the world's largest diamond market. Due to the economic crisis, the diamond purchase in China is being affected. Many companies involved in the diamond industry in Surat have reduced their working hours and instead of keeping one day off in a week, they have now declared 2 days off.