India's Polished Diamond Exports Declined 8% in May

India's polished diamond exports declined 8 percent year on year to $1.636 billion in May ‎‎2014, based on provisional figures from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. By ‎volume, exports fell 14 percent to 2.807 million carats. ‎As a result, the average value of polished exports increased 7 percent to $583 per carat.

Polished imports, meanwhile, dropped 21 percent to $422.44 million during the month. India's net ‎polished exports, representing the excess of exports over imports, fell 2 percent to $1.214 billion.

India's rough diamond imports fell 6 percent to $1.55 billion in May, while rough ‎exports rose 6 percent to $142.53 million. Net rough imports, or the excess of ‎imports over exports, declined 7 percent to $1.407 billion.‎

India's May net diamond account, which reflects the difference between net polished exports and net ‎rough imports, narrowed to a deficit of $192.95 million compared with a deficit of $263.08 million one year ago. 

In May, India's imports of rough synthetic stones, including synthetic diamonds and gemstones, fell 32 percent to $9.07 million, while synthetic stone imports rose 33 percent to $8.79 million. Total synthetic stone exports more than halved to $6.16 million.

During the first five months of 2014, India's polished diamond exports have fallen 8.7 percent year on year to $8.656 billion, while polished imports were 13.7 percent lower at $2.704 billion, leaving net exports of $5.952 billion, compared with $6.349 billion one year earlier. 

Rough imports have increased 5.7 percent to $7.697 billion, however, rough exports were reduced by 27.3 percent to $670 million, leaving net imports of  $7.027 billion, compared with $6.361 billion one year ago. India's net diamond account for the January through May period rose to a deficit of  $1.075 billion compared with a deficit of just $13 million in 2013.