Record Exports: Mumbai's Loss is Surat's Gain
November 03, 20
(IDEX Online) - Surat's bourse has seen business boom, as it picked up export trade from its closed counterpart in Mumbai.
Half-year exports to October were up more than 700 per cent to $832m said the Surat Hira Bourse (SHB), the city's only customs clearance centre for diamond, jewelry, gold and other precious cargo.
By comparison total export for the financial year 2019-20 were $190m.
Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) was closed between March and May because of the pandemic, but the SHB remained open.
"When BDB had shut down … the export of diamonds and jewellery continued from SHB's customs clearance from April," KK Sharma the CEO of SHB told the Times of India newspaper. "This is a record export for SHB."
About 70 per cent of exports from Surat were destined for Hong Kong, gateway to the Chinese market.
Pic shows diamond merchants in Surat