A report in Times of India, quoted by IDEX Online, claims that the West’s sanctions on Russian diamonds are keenly felt in Surat as “Indian manufacturers are working short weeks or closing their factories altogether,” hit by dwindling supplies of Russian rough.
Normally, Alrosa’s supplies 40% of rough diamonds to Surat, mostly in smaller stones. The growing shortage in Surat, according to the report, will also have “an inevitable knock-on effect in the US, the final destination for half the diamonds polished in India, especially as the summer wedding season draws near.”
Ashok Gajera, managing director of Laxmi Diamonds, said in an interview to Times of India: “Small and medium-sized stones worth close to $5 billion come from Russia. They are mostly used in wedding jewelry or assembled around a centerpiece or a solitaire. With the supply of raw materials affected deeply, most of the large factories in Surat have cut down on timings. Some are working for four days, some only three.”
