Surat Bounces Back with $1.1bn Exports in November

(IDEX Online) - Diamond exports from Surat almost doubled in November.

India's cutting and polishing capital bounced back from lockdown doldrums with $1.1bn of overseas sales.  That's a 92 per cent increase on November 2019, according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

The city's 7,000 manufacturing units have been working flat out since they returned to full staffing in recent weeks, taking only a five-day break for Diwali last month and buoyed by demands for Christmas and the Chinese New Year (February 2021). 

"After COVID-19 lockdown, the diamond industry is getting back on track from November first week," Dinesh Navadiya, regional GJEPC chairman, told the Asian News International agency.

"In November 2019, we exported diamonds worth $620m. In November 2020 exports reached more than $1.1bn.  This means there is a jump of 92 per cent."