During September, shipments of Russian diamonds to India, which has become the world's largest center for processing precious stones, fell by 96% compared to the same period in 2023.
Points of attention
- Western sanctions have caused a 96% decline in Russian diamond exports to India, significantly impacting the global gem market.
- The G7 countries have imposed a ban on the import of Russian diamonds, affecting the Russian gem producer Alrosa.
- Belgium, the UAE, and Hong Kong have emerged as top diamond suppliers to India, diminishing their shipments following the decrease in Russian exports.
- India, the largest exporter of polished diamonds, is experiencing a reduction in gem imports due to the ban on Russian diamond imports.
- The ban on Russian diamond imports has led to a significant decrease in the volume of diamonds sent to India, with Belgium, the UAE, and Hong Kong now leading in supply.
What is known about the large-scale collapse of Russian diamond exports to India
It is noted that the export of Russian diamonds to India in September this year amounted to 37 thousand. carats worth $1.5 million, against 917,000 carats worth $112 million a year earlier.
In September, India cut its total imports of precious stones by almost a quarter compared to last year.
The largest suppliers of diamonds to India were Belgium, the UAE and Hong Kong, which until 2022 was inferior to Russia in terms of the volume of imported goods.
In September, Hong Kong supplied precious stones to India worth 448 million dollars, which is 5% less than a year earlier.
For its part, Belgium imported diamonds worth $186 million, or 16% less year-on-year, and the UAE — $581 million, or 12% less than a year ago.
What is known about the sanctions of Western countries against diamonds of Russian origin
The G7 countries banned the import of Russian diamonds from January 1, 2024, and from March 1 extended the ban to shipments of stones processed in third countries. At the same time, India is the largest exporter of processed diamonds in the world with a share of 26.5%.
In 2022, the export of diamonds brought Russia more than 4 billion dollars, and the largest Russian producer of precious stones — the company "Alrosa" — occupied about 30% of the world market of rough diamonds.
