Manufacturers in Surat, the cutting and polishing capital of India, are hoping that an extended Diwali vacation will push up polished diamond prices, IDEX Online reports.
During Diwali, Surat’s 6,000 cutting and polishing units will remain closed for three weeks – instead of the usual seven to ten days.
Vipul Shah, vice chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), told The Economic Times: “Even though rough diamond prices were going up due to supply constraint, polished prices were not witnessing an upward trajectory and the processors’ margin was not moving up. The long vacation will bring down the supply of polished prices and hopefully polished prices will go up.”
