Israel remained the United States largest trading partner for both diamond imports and exports in terms of value in 2014. Last year, Israel accounted for over a third of the United States diamond
imports in terms of value. In total, the United States imported just over $550 million worth of rough diamonds in 2014 – marking a decrease of 3.3 percent from revised 2013 level of $570.2 million. Imports from Israel reached US$215,738,985, worth over US$10,000 per carat on average, according to statistics from the United States Census Bureau. Israel, the European Union and Botswana together accounted for over four fifths of the total U.S. import value of rough diamond shipments in 2014.
Rough Diamond Imports to the United States from Ten Leading Countries in Terms of Value
Country | Volume (Carats) | Value (US$) |
Israel | 20,659.84 | $215,738,985.01 |
European Union | 607,852.59 | $122,374,113.76 |
Botswana | 1,444,487.63 | $116,544,118.10 |
South Africa | 14,310.90 | $35,016,393.34 |
Switzerland | 1,132.36 | $18,145,242.25 |
Russian Federation | 2,338.99 | $15,856,149.00 |
India | 1,479,055.17 | $6,439,344.35 |
Namibia | 4,793.31 | $5,800,890.74 |
United Arab Emirates | 38,255.67 | $3,796,945.60 |
China, People’s Republic of | 2,739.47 | $3,332,527.68 |
Rough diamond re-exports from the United States in 2014 topped over $350 million, marking a 12.3% n increase from the revised 2013 level of $316.4 million, according to published Census
Bureau statistics. Once again, Israel remained the largest trading partner in terms of rough diamond re-exports, accounting for a more than 40% share. U.S. rough diamond re-exports in terms of value to Israel, the European Union and South Africa accounted for over four fifths of the U.S. rough diamonds re-exports in 2014.
Rough Diamond Re-Exports to the United States from Ten Leading Countries in Terms of Value
Country | Volume (Carats) | Value (US$) |
Israel | 109,933.93 | $144,634,769.72 |
European Union | 647,732.81 | $103,737,979.99 |
South Africa | 7,580.89 | $36,576,183.14 |
India | 135,947.38 | $23,391,039.86 |
United Arab Emirates | 88,457.98 | $11,808,936.30 |
China, People’s Republic of | 37,322.45 | $11,651,728.48 |
Japan | 106,066.20 | $8,450,917.31 |
Namibia | 6,126.49 | $3,556,280.31 |
Switzerland | 253.61 | $3,138,590.74 |
Botswana | 1,233.65 | $2,562,593.25 |
Total | 1,394,076.03 | $355,222,708.53 |