Continued Decline in India's Polished Trade, Exports Slashed

(IDEX Online News) – India's exports of polished diamonds continue to decline, and the new import tax is not the full reason for it. India's polished diamond exports fell not only compared to the previous year, but also dropped compared to the preceding month.

India exported $1.33 billion worth of polished diamonds in April, declining 34.9 percent year-over-year and 37 percent compared to March when the 2 percent import tax was already in place.

The tax is intended to stop round tripping, and it has successfully curbed it to a large degree as evident from the decline in trade in March. The April figures are showing a continued decline, likely a combination of the effect of the tax and other reasons for a drop in trade.

Indian traders are reporting a slower business environment and a slowdown in trade.

The volume of exports was 2.251 million carats, a 55.1 percent year-over-year decline. Compared to March, the volume of exports fell 47.2 percent.

Polished diamond imports were sliced 76.5 percent to $355.4 million. Compared to March, the drop is 60.5 percent.