Israel's Diamond Exports Hit Record Low
July 28, 26
(IDEX Online) - Israel's cumulative diamond exports for the first six months of 2026 slumped to just $2.4 billion, described as "record low" in the history of the country's modern diamond industry.
At its peak, in 2015 Israel's annual export of polished diamonds alone was around $7 billion, but it has been in steady decline since then.
New figures published by the Ministry of Economy and Industry show gross polished exports for January to June were down to $1.77 billion, a 22% decrease year-on-year.
Rough exports were down 34% to just over $200 million during the same period (The cumulative figure cited above also includes diamond jewelry).
"Today, the volume of diamond trade is only one-third of what it was a decade ago," Israel's diamond controller Natalie Gutman told the Ynet news website.
"Since 2022, there has been a consistent decline, and we are now at an all-time low."
Israel was once one of the world's leading diamond trading centers and a major global hub for polishing and trading diamonds.
But it has been eclipsed in recent years by Dubai, and hurt by the global downturn, lab growns, a 10% tariff on exports to the US and ongoing security concerns.
File pic shows the trading floor at the Israel Diamond Exchange, Ramat Gan, in busier times.