Israel’s net imports of rough stones jumped 16.7 percent on 2015 to $3.25 billion, according to figures published by the Ministry of Economy and Industry.
Meanwhile, the country's rough exports surged 23 percent on the 2015 figure to $2.7 billion.
As for polished diamond exports, they declined by 6.4 percent on the year to $4.68 billion in 2016 from $4.99 billion in 2015.
The country's main export markets saw polished diamond exports to the U.S. drop to $1.83 billion from $2 billion in 2015, and exports to Hong Kong declined to $1.24 billion from $1.35 billion, while those to Belgium were unchanged at $349 million.
As for polished imports, they declined by 5.7 percent to $3.28 billion.
Israel’s Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechai said that there had been a downward trend in the business activity for most of 2016, however, the first indications of recovery became apparent toward the end of 2016, he added.
This was a result mainly of the growing stability of the market and the industry’s agreement with the Israel Tax Authority in December, he commented.
