The sanctions on Russian diamonds, which have been in effect since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, has Indian diamond traders “too worried about volatile currency exchanges to buy Russian diamonds in rupees,” according to IDEX Online.
Last July, nine banks announced that they were opening “vostro accounts”, allowing Indian traders to maintain business ties despite the sanctions. However, according to the report, “imports of rough from Russia have fallen by 40% since April 2022 and not a single diamond trader has used the facility.”
Speaking to Bloomberg, Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said: “Nobody is willing to take the exchange risk and volatility. The Russians are not comfortable with the rupee invoicing as far as the gems and jewelry sector is concerned.” Shah added that “GJEPC was exploring all avenues to resume the flow of diamonds to India, including direct imports on a ‘government-to-government basis’”.
In other Russia-related news reported by IDEX Online, Eira Thomas, CEO of Canada-based Lucara Diamonds, told the Financial Times (FT) that the EU should outlaw Russian diamonds when the 27 EU countries “adopt a new package of sanctions early next month.”
