Israeli Polished Exports Fall 5.5%

Export of polished diamonds from Israel fell 5.5 percent to $531.9 million in July on shipments of 354,957.49 carats, a 3.2 percent increase in volume. Since the start of the year exports have declined 4.1 percent in value to $3.893 billion, while falling 10.3 percent in volume to 2,411,005.41 carats.

The average price per carat of exports in July was $1,498.56. The average price per carat for the January-July period is $1,614.72.

Imports of polished diamonds into Israel suffered even more, dropping 13.3 percent in value to $300 million, and 7.9 percent in volume to 284,289.39 carats. The average per carat price was $1,055.33.

Imports during the first seven months of the year declined 2.2 percent to $2.168 billion. By weight, imports dropped 10.3 percent to 1,953,898.79 carats.

The U.S. continues to be the leading destination of Israeli polished diamond exports, supplying it with over 50 percent of its imports by value for a total of $372.98 million.

Exports to Hong Kong totaled $47.6 million. Those to Switzerland were worth $21 million worth of polished.