During the first half of this year, according to Israel’s Economy Ministry, Israel’s polished diamond exports fell 17 percent year on year to US$2.975 billion and polished imports declined 21 percent to US$1.793 billion. Rough diamond imports to Israel dropped 21 percent to US$1.623 billion and rough exports decreased 22 percent to US$1.361 billion.
The U.S. remained the largest destination market for Israel’s polished diamonds, receiving 44 percent by value. The second largest market was Hong Kong, which occupied 31 percent of Israel’s polished exports, followed by Switzerland with 10 percent share.
The country’s net polished exports, representing exports less imports, dropped 16 percent to US$1.182 billion, and net rough imports, representing imports less exports, slid 15 percent to US$262 million. During the first six months, Israel’s net diamond account, the difference between net imports of rough and net exports of polished, declined 17 percent to US$920 million.
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