2005

Israel’s Polished Exports Rise in February - April.2005

Israel's polished diamond exports rose in February
while rough diamond imports fell. But exports increased, according to statistics recently released by the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor's Diamond Controller, Shmuel Mordechai.

Net polished diamond exports rose 10.7% in Feb. 2005 to reach $661.6 million, compared to $597.6 million in Feb. 2004. Since the beginning of the year, polished exports rose 11.2%, from $1.182 billion in 2004, to $1.314 billion in 2005.

Net imports of rough diamonds declined by 19.9% in February, totaling $393.9 million, as compared to $491.6 million in Feb. 2004. Since the beginning of the year rough diamond imports decreased by 7.6%, from $889 million in 2004 to $821.8 million in 2005.

Rough diamond exports from Israel continued to rise, increasing 5% in February to reach $298.7 million, compared to $284.4 million in the same month last year. Israel's imports of polished diamonds increased 17.93% in February 2005 to reach $320.8 million, as compared to $272.1 million in 2004.

For the first two months of the year imports of polished diamonds rose 15.5% to $552.1 million, compared to $478.0 million in the same period in 2004.

The February figures point to a continued growth in demand for Israeli polished diamonds, as well as a reduction in the quantity of rough diamonds entering the country. Achieving a steady supply of rough diamonds is one of the industry's major challenges, officials say.