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Israel sees 1.3-pct decrease in diamond exports in 2018

JERUSALEM
2019-01-07 14:20

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Israeli diamond exports decreased by 1.3 percent in 2018 to 6.73 billion U.S. dollars compared with 2017, according to data released Sunday by the state's Ministry of Economy.

The ministry said that despite the decrease, the recent figures showed that Israel's diamond exports have stabilized after five years of sharp decline.

For many years, diamond was Israel's leading export sector, but between 2012 and 2017 it saw a drop by 40 percent.

The data also showed that Israel's polished diamond exports fell 2.5 percent in 2018 to 4.48 billion dollars, while rough diamond exports rose by 1.1 percent to 2.25 billion dollars.

In 2018, the ministry launched a program to support the diamond sector, which enables dealers to receive U.S. dollar credit from a state-guaranteed fund.

The ministry also implemented a 3-million-new-shekel marketing support program (about 810,000 dollars) to help develop new international markets and promote exports.

The United States leads the market for Israeli diamond exports in 2018 taking up 48 percent, followed by China's Hong Kong with 28 percent, Switzerland 8 percent, and Belgium 7 percent.

Israeli imports of polished diamond totaled 3.05 billion dollars in 2018, up 4.1 percent year on year. Imports of rough diamond valued 2.66 billion dollars, down 6.9 percent.
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