Israel's diamond industry is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic exceptionally well, a report published Tuesday by the Economy Ministry revealed.
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According to ministry data, the first quarter of 2021 saw a significant increase in all four categories of the diamond trade.
Rough diamond import totaled $476 million, a 75% increase compared to the same period of time the year before. March alone saw an 87% increase compared to the same month in 2020.
Rough diamond export totaled $390 million, a 66% increase compared to last year, with a 260% increase in March.
Polished diamond import totaled $647 million, an increase of about 61% compared to the year before, with a 250% increase in March.
Polished diamond export totaled $828 million, an 11.5% increase compared to the first quarter of 2020. March saw an increase of 385%.
The normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates also brought new sparkle to the trade. Rough diamond export to the UAE totaled $56 million, which makes up 14% of Israel's total rough diamond export in the first quarter.
Rough diamond imports from the UAE to Israel totaled $38 million, which constitutes 8% of all rough diamond imports into Israel in the first quarter of 2021.
There was no direct diamond trade yet between the Jewish state and the Emirates in the first quarter of 2020, considered the Middle East's two main diamond centers, as the Abraham Accords were reached in the summer of that year.
"There's cause for optimism after what was a difficult year for the diamond industry," Ofir Gur, head of the Economy Ministry's diamond and jewelry administration, said.
"Data from the global diamond industry and specifically the American and Chinese diamond and jewelry markets in recent months indicate a rapid recovery. We estimate that just like the first quarter of this year, the second one is expected to be favorable for the industry as well, if there'll be no surprises. "
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