17% Dip in Israel’s Polished Diamond Exports
May 04, 08 by Edahn Golan
Israel’s polished diamond exports dropped sharply in April, totaling a net of $376 million – a 17.2 percent year-over-year decline from $454 million in April 2007. The sharp decrease is believed to be a result of the Basel show, for which Israeli dealers exported a large number of goods in March. Subsequently, a large number of goods were returned in April.
In the first four months of the year, Israel exported a total of $2.533 billion worth of polished goods, an 8 percent increase over 2007.
About 41 percent of the exports in April were shipped to the U.S., and another 26 percent were shipped to Hong Kong.
Polished diamond imports shot up 27.6 percent to $429 million compared to April 2007.