India’s gems and jewelry exports fell 38% in July from a year ago to $1.36 billion as shipments of cut and polished diamonds plunged because of the novel coronavirus, a trade organization said on Thursday. The industry was hit twice because of the coronavirus, with export orders evaporating and then a shortage of workers caused by a national lockdown to stop the spread of the virus.
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India’s cut and polished diamond exports in July fell 39% from a year ago to $918.4 million, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said in a statement. In the April to July period, cut and polished diamond exports plunged 46.5% from a year ago to $2.7 billion, it said.
Thousands of workers employed in polishing diamonds went back to their homes after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the coronavirus in late March and many of them had yet to return, said Colin Shah, chairman of GJEPC.
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“Today, there’s enough work, but not enough manpower,” Shah said. Falling exports of cut and polished diamonds prompted polishing units to cut imports of rough diamonds, which from April to July fell 82% from a year ago to $712.6 million, the trade body said.