G7 Sanctions Will Cause India "Minimum Disruption"
December 19, 23
(IDEX Online) - The Indian government say the G7 diamond sanctions only stones over one carats, and will therefore cause minimum disruption to its industry.
The vast majority of stones cut and polished in Surat and other diamond hubs are well under the 1.0-cts threshold.
"We should be able to export our diamonds without disturbing the proposed sanctions on Russia," said the Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal.
The G7 nations, which account for 70 per cent of retail diamond purchases, announced earlier this month that it will outlaw Russian diamonds from 1 January 2024.
Phased restrictions on Russian diamonds processed abroad will come into force from 1 March and a traceability mechanism will be introduced on 1 September to police the sanctions.
Vipul Bansal, an official at India's federal trade ministry, said: "The key point here is that most of the Russian diamonds we cut and polish essentially are less than 0.5 carats."
Pic courtesy Alrosa shows small Russian rough.