Exports of cut and polished diamonds are likely to decline by twenty-two percent in the current financial year

Mumbai: India's exports of cut and polished diamonds are likely to decline by 22 percent year-on-year to $17.20 billion in the current financial year due to sluggish demand from major consumer countries. Second, the prices of rough diamonds are seen to be firm.

The country's export of cut and polished diamonds has been declining since the last six months of FY2023.

In the first five months of the current financial year, exports of cut and polished diamonds from the country have declined by 31 percent. There has been a decline in both export volume and price. Rating agency Icra has downgraded the diamond industry outlook from stable to negative.

Inflationary pressures in the country's major export hubs such as the US and Europe have led consumers to change their spending patterns, which has led to a decline in demand for diamonds.

China's demand for diamonds is also not very attractive. China's diamonds account for 10 to 15 percent of the global demand for diamonds.

The demand for artificial diamonds, which are available at huge discounts compared to natural diamonds, is currently weak. Laboratory-grown diamonds account for an increasing share of exports.

On the other hand, market circles said that the prices of rough diamonds are looking firm in the current financial year. Due to low supply from mining companies and post-corona demand, rough prices have seen an improvement in the last two years.

Rough diamond prices are also trending higher due to supply disruptions from Russia. The United States has banned Russia's Alroza, which accounts for 30 percent of global crude supply.