Israel's Polished Diamond Exports in Q1 +45.7% to $2.1 Billion

(IDEX Online News) - Israel exported a net of $2.123 billion worth of polished diamonds in the first quarter of 2011, a 45.7% increase compared to the $1.457 billion exported the year before.

Of the total net, about 45% of exports by value were to the U.S., Israel's leading diamond export destination. Some 26% of the exports were to Hong Kong, 9% to Switzerland, 8% to Belgium, and 2% of the quarterly polished diamond exports were to China.

Polished diamond imports in the quarter increased 48.5% to $1.234 billion.

Compared to the first quarter of 2008, Israel's diamond trade increased by 10%, Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai said this morning (Sunday). Part of the increase is attributed to a large participation of Israeli traders in two large trade shows, in Hong Kong and Basel.