Israel’s Ministry of Economy has published figures showing polished diamond exports decreased by 20% to $5 billion in 2015 due to a fall in demand in Israel's main markets and the high price of rough goods while polished prices declined .
E xports of p olished goods to the United States, which is Israel’s biggest market , fell by 16% to $2 billion. Meanwhile exports to Hong Kong fell even more – by 28% to $1.35 billion , the ministry reported .
P olished e xports to Belgium, Switzerland and Britain also fell , the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said a decline in global diamond industry last year came about as demand in the U.S. and China fell and the price of rough stones rose while the price of polished gems fell, thus reducing margins.
Meanwhile, polished imports for the same period dropped 23% to $3.48 billion.
In rough goods, imports in 2015 dropped 31% to $2.78 billion while exports fell 28% to $2.2 billion.
