For quite some time, Israel was enjoying a strong export business, but for April of 2008, the numbers showed a 17% drop. This means the number of polished diamonds being exported out of Israel dropped to just $376.34 million. In addition, even the volume of exports saw a reduction of 11%, which ended at $249,823.27 worth of diamond carats.Although there is some speculation as to the reason for the decline, experts believe the Basel World Watch and Jewellery show was the problem. This show was held the start of April, an event in which many Israel diamond traders and exporters attend. With this particular show, the number of exports was down while people were focusing more on buying.
However, even with the show occurring in April, the numbers for the months of March and April combined were quite impressive, reaching approximately $972 million specifically to polished diamonds. Another fascinating fact is that for imports of polished diamonds, Israel saw an increase of some 28%. That means more than $428 million in polished stones were imported. Even with that, the country was still below earlier numbers by $52 million.
Then, when it comes to rough diamonds, those not yet polished, imports for Israel saw a 17% growth. For rough exports, the numbers also saw a rise, which was up by 19%, taking numbers to almost $270 million. There was even an 11% increase for net rough diamonds, which is the result of imports minus exports, which is certainly good news.
The only other decline seen with Israel diamonds was net polished exports minus rough imports, which gives the country’s diamond account. For this area of Israel’s diamonds, there was a loss of money to $56 million from the earlier year of $143 million, which is quite a reduction. Other changes seen with diamonds coming out of Israel for this year’s April report include:
- Year to Date Polished Exports – Increased 8% to $2.53 billion
- Year to Date Polished Imports – Increased 15% to $1.48 billion
- Rough Imports – The increase here was to $1.68 billion or a 14% increase
- Rough Exports – This too saw a 15% increase to $1.48 billion
- Net Diamond Account – For the months starting in January through April of 2008, numbers climbed to $738.72, a 12% increase
- Export of Polished Diamonds to the United States – For this category, there was a 17% decline, taking numbers to $1.04 billion
- Polished Diamonds being Exported to Hong Kong – While America saw a significant reduction; Hong Kong enjoyed a huge increase to 56%, which is equivalent to more than $656 million.
- India Polished Exports – The most impressive change from January to April of 2008 was exports being sent to India. In fact, the rise more than quadrupled, taking numbers to over $61 million
- Belgium Polished Exports – This country also saw an increase to $230 million, a 26% rise
- England Polished Exports – While most of the countries receiving exports out of Israel saw a rise in numbers, England actually fell 8%, taking the number to over $77 million
While this can all see a little difficult to follow, the following shows the change from 2007 to 2008 for each of the listed categories. Rather than by value, these numbers reflect volume.
- Polished Exports – -11%
- Polished Imports – 2%
- Net Polished Exports – N/A
- Rough Imports – 21%
- Rough Exports – 34%
- Net Rough Imports – N/A
- Net Diamond Account – N/A
The bottom line is that while there have been a few areas in which the numbers have fallen for the various types of diamonds coming out of and going into Israel, many have risen. Of course, these numbers are only for the past four months so it will be interesting to see what transpires over the following summer months.
Again, because so many diamond traders, exporters, and importers were involved with the diamond show, there was no time or resources to keep up with demand. Therefore, it is believed that with the show over, the numbers for polished, rough, and net polished and rough diamonds coming out of and going into Israel will see a significant rise.
While there are many areas in which numbers look bad, diamonds have held their own for quite some time. In fact, other diamond importers and exporters from other countries are keeping the level of competition tight. Therefore, even with some decline, people should not put too more emphasis on this past summary.
Therefore, to get a more realistic view of the diamond industry specific to Israel, people will need to check then next quarter’s numbers, which are believed to be stronger and more in line with the true market. Of course, the next show that comes around where traders, exporters, and importers are focusing on the show and not moving diamonds, it is likely that numbers will change again, although only temporarily.
Other articles of interest: