Japan’s Imports Restored in March

(IDEX Online News) – After a surprise dip in Japan’s gross polished diamond imports in February, imports were back to their previous trend in March. Japan imported $75.4 million worth of polished diamonds during the month.

Imports in March are 2.6 percent up year-over-year and up a sharp 40.7 percent compared to February, based on figures released by Momozawa & Co., sourced from the Customs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

The volume of imports totaled 177,067 carats, averaging $426.07 per carat.

Gross polished diamond imports into Japan dropped unexpectedly in February, declining 23.9 percent year-over-year, the largest such decline since January 2010.

India continues to serve as Japan’s main polished diamond supplier. In March, goods worth $28.6 million were imported from India, about 38 percent of the month’s imports.

Belgium and Hong Kong are the second and third leading suppliers, respectively. Other leading suppliers include Israel, Thailand, the U.S. and China.