Surat SEZ Diamond Exports Halved, Hit by Lab Growns
May 21, 24(IDEX Online) - Diamond and jewelry exports from the Surat Special Economic Zone (SurSEZ) fell by almost a half in 2023-24, as consumers increasingly switched from natural to lab growns.
Foreign sales from SurSEZ's 120 manufacturing units were down from Rs 26,513 crore ($318m) in 2022-23 to Rs 13,747 crore ($165m), a decline (in Rs) of 48 per cent.
Industry leaders at SurSEZ - where 95 per of income come from diamonds and jewelry - says lab growns are hitting sales harder than the global economic crisis, or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
"Consumers, particularly in the US and China - India's biggest diamond markets - are increasingly opting for lab-grown diamonds due to their significantly lower prices, often more than 90 peer cent cheaper than natural diamonds," one trader told The Free Press Journal.
Generic pic of Surat diamond polishing.