Hong Kong has gotten a boost to its polished diamond industry in the first three months of the year: According to Rough & Polished, the island’s polished diamond imports increased 10% year-on-year to $5.17 billion.
By volume, imports grew 6% to 5.3 million carats. The average price increased 3% to $982 per carat. Polished imports from India rose 4% increased to $2.36 billion, Belgium went up by 27% to $504.4 million, the US to rose 2% to $493 million, and imports from Israel dropped 7% to $434.3 million.
Polished exports grew 4% to $3.53 bn for the quarter. Rough imports increased 61% to $539.1 million, with rough exports up 85% to $907.6 million. Net rough imports stood at negative $368.5 million, compared with a low of $155.1 million for the same period in 2017.
