Surat Diamond Industry in Crisis: US Ban on Russian Rough Imports Sparks Concerns.

Surat Diamond Industry

The new endorses by US are in lines with a responsibility made by G7 countries in September last year to force staged limitations on the import of jewels mined or separated in Russia.

• According to people familiar with the situation, the US government has further tightened restrictions on polished diamonds made from Russian rough stones, putting the Surat diamond industry in Gujarat at risk for another crisis following the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

• The US Office of Unfamiliar Resources Control (OFAC) on February 8 reported that beginning from Walk 1, harsh jewels weighing 1.0 carats or more will be restricted, and from September 1, those weighing 0.5 carats or more will likewise be disallowed. OFAC has prohibited their import whether or not they were handled in Russia or considerably changed in a third country.

• The new endorses are in lines with a responsibility made by Gathering of Seven (G7) countries in September last year to force staged limitations on the import of jewels mined or extricated in Russia.

• According to experts in the field, the decision will have a negative impact on the Surat diamond industry, which is heavily dependent on Russia-imported roughs that are polished and processed here.

Diamond processor in India required to mention in the invoice where the roughs have been sourced from, including the precise location of the mine, in accordance with the most recent move by the United States to prohibit Russian diamonds. Antwerp will be the location where the roughs will be tracked and verified. This will give a significant catastrophe for the Surat precious stone industry as almost 33% of the precious stones that are cleaned in Surat are from Russia,” said Dinesh Navadiya, a precious stone nobleman and provincial director of Pearls and Gems Product Advancement Chamber (GJEPC).

Navadiya said while Surat imports 4% of the jewels straightforwardly from Russia, the leftover 29% advances toward Surat through different nations that are likewise now under sanctions.

The US is the last G7 country to report its reception of the worldwide responsibility, with European Association (EU) nations likewise consenting to boycott Russian jewel imports in December 2023. These actions came into force on January 1. The G7, involved Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US, and the UK, all in all hold influence more than 70% of the worldwide precious stone market.

The most recent US ban includes the import of diamond jewelry as well as unsorted diamonds exported from Russia, the largest diamond producer in the world who made approximately $4 billion last year from the diamond trade.

While India straightforwardly trades over 33% of its cleaned jewels to the US and EU nations, the greater part of the handled precious stones are sent out to Hong Kong and China. As per the Pearl and Gems Product Advancement Chamber (GJEPC) information, the general gross commodities of cut and cleaned jewels in the monetary year 2022-23 denoted a 2.97% decay from ₹1.82 lakh crore to ₹1.76 lakh crore contrasted with the earlier year.

Worldwide difficulties impacted the interest for precious stones in India’s essential business sectors, like the USA and China, while specific areas in Europe and Southeast Asia saw more steady execution, as per industry authorities.

India experienced obstacles because of anomalies in the stockpile of Russian unpleasant jewels and troubles with beneficiation processes. Officials stated that Namibia, Botswana, and Angola’s decision to process their rough diamonds domestically exacerbated India’s diamond industry difficulties.

A jewel nobleman from Surat who didn’t wish to be named said that the business has made portrayals to the Indian government about the upgraded US rules.

The precious stone center point of Surat utilizes near 800,000 individuals and is a significant supporter of India’s diamonds and gems commodities of about Rs.3 lakh crore. Gujarat cuts and polishes 90% of the state’s diamonds in Surat, which accounts for 80% of India’s diamond exports.

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