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Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
What De Beers curtailing of rough diamond production means for Surat's polishing industry
De Beers, which is claimed to mine a third of the world's rough diamonds, curtailed the production of rough diamonds by 36 percent in the second quarter this year compared to the corresponding period last year given the 'prolonged period of lower demand', which Surat's major diamond players see as a move to help stabilize the market. Overall the production reduced to 4.1 million carats where Canada saw the highest reduction by 46 %, Botswana by 44% and Namibia by 5% while production rose by 17% in South Africa, as per a report put out by De Beers on July 24. According to the De Beers company website, rough diamond trading was 'challenging' in the first half of 2025, and polished diamond rates stabilised globally at the end of the first quarter. Business was affected largely because of the 'uncertainty surrounding US tariffs announced in April' which impacted trade of polished diamonds, the report stated. The sentiment corresponds with business data shared by the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council ( GJEPC) which shows a 22.72% decline in the gross exports of cut and polished natural diamonds in the second quarter (April – June 2025) which stood at USD 2837.29 million (Rs. 24270.19 crores) as compared to USD 3671.33 million (Rs. 30623.29 crores) for the same period of previous year. The gross imports of rough diamonds in the same period this year is at USD 3222.93 million (Rs 27567.68 crores) have shown a decline of 5.13% compared with the imports at USD 3397.08 million (Rs. 28330.10 crores) for previous year. In terms of volume, the gross import of rough diamonds was 272.64 lakh carats during in the second quarter, down by 8.72% compared to last year. Savji Dholakia, Chairman of Hari Krishna Exports, a leading diamond manufacturing and export company in Surat, told The Indian Express, 'The diamond industry is passing through a bad phase of recession, as there is no major demand in the international market. The reduction in production of rough diamonds by De Beers will not create any impact on the present condition, as in the last three years, the natural diamond cutting and polishing have gone down by over 30 per cent. The steps taken by De Beers will help to build a stronger market for natural diamonds when there is a shortage of inventory, and it will also help to stabilise the market for cut and polished diamonds.' According to GJEPC Gujarat president Jayentibhai Savaliya , 'The De Beers group had curtailed the production of the rough diamonds from its sources because the market condition of natural polished diamonds is not preferable. The group doesn't want to increase production and reduce the rate of natural rough diamonds. By controlling the production, they wanted to maintain the prices of rough diamonds globally.' Surat Diamond Association president Jagdish Khut said, ' Presently, there is no shortage of supply of rough diamonds in the industry. We have not received any such complaint from any of the diamond manufacturing companies or traders. The purpose of reducing production could be that they wanted to clear the earlier stock.' Diamond trader and ex-president of SDA Damji Mawani agrees on the lack of major demand for natural diamonds in the international market. 'As a result, in Surat, many factory owners who were earlier in cutting and polishing natural diamonds have diverted them to Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD). There are diamond factories that are running both units, LGD and natural diamonds parallelly. Around 60 to 70 per cent of the natural diamond companies in Surat jumped into LGD. The domestic sales of LGD had also grown', Mawani says. However, exports of LGD in the second quarter also showed a decline by 19 % reducing from USD 319.7 in the corresponding period last year, to USD 258.5 million this year.
Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Trade deal brings some cheer to Surat's gems and jewellery sector; many plan on exploring opportunities in the UK
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom, signed on Thursday, has come as a shot in the arm for Surat's gems and jewellery industry, which has been reeling under a slump triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict since 2022. Though the scale of export to the UK in the sector is not as high as it is in the case of the United States, industry stakeholders in Surat said the FTA has brought some cheer to those involved in gems and jewellery trade in the city. Some industry leaders said the FTA has prompted them to explore trade options with the UK. Last year, gems and jewellery worth 9,236.46 million US Dollars were exported to the US – the highest among other countries. The exports to the UK stood at 941 million USD. 'Now with the duty concessions, this figure is poised to surge to USD 2.5 billion in the next three years, elevating overall bilateral trade in the gems and jewellery sector to an estimated USD 7 billion,' according to a statement from Kirit Bhansali, Chairman of Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Following the conflict with Ukraine, sanctions were imposed on Alrosa, the Russia-based diamond mining giant, which directly impacted livelihoods in Surat – a major centre for polishing diamonds in the world. Talking to The Indian Express from the UK, Bhansali said, 'Three years ago, India did an FTA with the UAE, and we have seen immense growth in the business between both countries with an annual growth rate of 12% to 14%. In the last three years, the total growth rate has been around 30%. Similarly, we are hoping that FTA with the UK will also boost the gems and jewellery sector in the coming years.' Sources said that in terms of exports from India to the UK, the highest value is of studded gold jewellery, closely followed by polished natural diamonds, and then lab grown diamond (LGDs). The UK ranks fifth in the value of exports in this sector while the US brings in the maximum business. Vallabhbhai Lakhani of Kiran Gems, a natural diamonds manufacturer and promoter, said, 'India's gems and jewellery business with the UK is not huge so the scale of impact of the FTA is difficult to guess. But something is better than nothing. The US is a major consumer of gems and jewellery. As of now, we have no presence in the UK but will explore an opportunity in the coming days.' Nagjibhai Sakariya, promoter of HVK diamonds, too, said the company is hoping to explore business opportunities in the UK following the FTA. 'We are doing business of diamond-studded jewellery worldwide, but due to lower demand from the UK, we haven't touched that market so far,' he said. 'A major consumer is the US market, and we have come to know that India and the US will be coming up with a trade agreement next month. A decision on such an agreement will impact the gems and jewellery industry,' he added. According to figures from GJEPC , the gross exports of gems and jewellery stood at USD 28.67 billion in the financial year 2024-2025. This marks an 11.2% decline from USD 32.29 billion recorded in 2023 -2024. Industry players blamed this dip in exports to the introduction of a 26% tariff on India under the US Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Plan. The other reasons that they cited were weak global demand and uncertainty in major markets, particularly the US, China and Europe. Many suppliers also held excess inventory from previous quarters due to slower offtakes, which limited the placement of new orders. The retailers worldwide adopted a wait-and-watch approach due to price volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, they said. Talking to The Indian Express, Vipul Shah, Managing Director of Asian Star Company, a natural diamonds dealer, said, 'The FTA between India and the UK will be a win-win situation for both countries. We began doing business with the Middle East three years ago, following the establishment of the FTA. We have received a good response, as we have gained new customers and our business has prospered. Now with FTA with the UK, we are also planning to move into the UK market and look for business opportunities. We will send a team to the UK next week to seek new customers.' Smit Patel, director of Green Lab Diamonds, which makes lab-grown diamonds, said, 'We have been doing business of loose lab-grown diamonds with the UK for the last few years. Now that the FTA has come into existence, we will also expand into the jewellery business, which we are currently operating with the Middle East, the US, Hong Kong, and other countries. Earlier, due to the impact of import duty in the UK, we would send fewer quantities of diamonds. Now, we will take full advantage of the zero duty and reach out to customers in the UK.'
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Exporters hope to offset US losses
The India-UK trade agreement brings optimism to Indian garment makers, offering a 10% duty cut and a level playing field against competitors like Bangladesh. This deal, expected to boost apparel exports and create jobs, also benefits sectors like gems, jewellery, and frozen prawns, potentially offsetting losses from US trade uncertainties. New Delhi: Indian garment makers, whose products often lost out to cheaper goods from Bangladesh, can now hope to gain some shelf space in London stores, thanks to a 10% duty cut under the trade deal with the UK."It will create infinite possibilities for the labour-intensive apparel sector by reducing trade barriers, fostering greater market access and boosting employment generation, besides providing a level-playing field vis-a-vis competing countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. The trade deal will further strengthen India's position as a global textiles and apparel sourcing hub," said Apparel Export Promotion Council secretary general Mithileshwar UK was the second largest market for Indian apparel, which were valued at $1.4 billion in 2024-25. It also means more investments in creating capacity to take over business from Bangladesh, given that Indian manufacturers lack scale - an area where the govt needs to move Tuesday's announcement of the India-UK trade agreement has suddenly got Indian businesses excited at a time when they were counting their losses due to tariff-related uncertainty caused by US President Donald instance, more Indian frozen prawns can now make it to British supermarkets, offsetting the losses in American stores."With zero tariffs, we can hope to increase our exports to around $2.5 billion over the next one-and-a-half or two years. It will help us fill up some of the gap caused by the US actions," said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. Indian exporters shipped $400 million worth of gems & jewellery to the exporters are, however, unable to make detailed estimations since the govt has not made public the complete schedule of tariff cuts and has only mentioned the broad duty access for wood and wood products and the furniture sector is also seen to be a boon for Indian makers, who are grappling with much bigger Chinese rivals both in domestic and export markets. Several farm products, including fruits and vegetables, as well as industrial products, are also likely to get more favourable access, thanks to govt getting the UK to address non-tariff barriers.
