Hong Kong Posts 4% Rise in Polished diamond Imports in Q1

There was a 20% rise in polished imports from India during the quarter to $2.19 billion, while imports from Israel fell 7% to $581.7 million.

Hong Kong recorded an increase of 4% on the year in imports of polished diamonds to $4.485 billion in the first quarter, according to Diamond Federation of Hong Kong China Limited.

In volume terms, there was a rise of 5% to 5.608 million carats, while the average price per carat of slipped 1 percent to $799.8.

Imports from India surged 20% higher to $2.19 billion in the first quarter. However, imports from Israel decreased by 7 percent to $581.7 million.

Meanwhile, imports of polished diamonds from Belgium edged up 3 percent to almost $479 million, while imports from the United States plunged 16 percent to just over $400 million.

In polished exports, Hong Kong posted a drop of 10 percent to $2.962 billion in the first quarter. Net polished imports, which are arrived at by subtracting polished imports from exports, soared 49 percent to $1.523 billion.

Imports of rough diamonds surged 45 percent to $464.5 million, while rough exports plummeted 61 percent to almost $696 million. Net rough imports fell to $231.4 million compared with $112.6 million last year.

Hong Kong’s overall net diamond account – total imports of rough and polished minus total exports – increased by 42 percent to $1.292 billion in the first quarter.