Sharp Rise in Israel’s Polished Diamond Exports as Israelis Head to HK
March 02, 08 by Edahn Golan
Another sharp rise in Israel’s polished diamond exports – in February, the country exported a net of $805 million worth of goods, a major jump of 26.9 percent over February 2007. Exports in the first two months of the year rose 14.4 percent in value, totaling $1.56 billion.
The sharp rise is partially an outcome of large exports to Hong Kong for the show, according to Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai. He expects large returns in March after the show ends.
Due to the high number of exported goods, Hong Kong was the leading destination for Israel’s exports, taking up 37 percent, $298 million, of net exports in February. The U.S. followed with 35 percent of the exports pie and Belgium was next with 10 percent.
In gross exports, the U.S. was the leading destination with 47 percent of polished diamond exports. This underscores the large returns Israeli diamond traders have seen from the American market, which has been weak in recent months.
Polished imports declined 2.6 percent to $330 million.
