Fall in diamond prices and exports causes 10 to 15% job losses in Gujarat

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Aug 22, 2019

Job losses in Gujarat’s diamond industry have increased by between 10 and 15% over the first four months of the 2020 financial year as polished diamond prices and exports have decreased.

Gujarat’s diamond cutting industry is facing increased challenges, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s vice chairman Colin Shah told ET Bureau. Prices of polished diamonds have decreased by up to 10% in the past four months and there is little expectation in the industry of a turnaround soon.

Exports have also suffered, due in part to the ongoing US-China trade dispute. Cut and polished diamond exports from India dropped by 18.15% in July compared to July 2018 and gem and jewellery exports for the first quarter of the 2020 financial year fell by 6.67%.

“Job loss to the tune of 10 to 15% has already happened in the diamond hub of Gujarat which is spread over Surat and smaller centres like Amreli and Bhavnagar,” Shah told ET Bureau.

“A slowdown in global demand, coupled with liquidity crisis, has affected the trade. Though demand in the US and Europe is steady, demand has dropped by 15 to 20% in China which is a major market. Demand in the Gulf countries is also not encouraging.”

Although the situation currently remains stagnant, Shah said that recovery could begin in the December 2019 to January 2020 period. As diamond cutters have seen shifts cut and increased unemployment, the industry is hoping this will prove true.