Imports of diamonds to Japan increased by 20 percent year-on-year, reaching $ 67.9 million, Rapaport reports with reference to Momozawa agency, which cites data from the Ministry of Finance of Japan. By volume, imports increased by 47 percent to 178,280 carats, and the average price of diamonds fell 18 percent to $ 381 per carat.
Imports of diamonds from India grew by 15 percent year-on-year to $ 34.4 million; from Belgium - by 0.4 percent to $ 10.8 million; imports from Israel fell by 7 percent to $ 4.8 million. Within a month, polished imports from Hong Kong more than doubled to $ 7.9 million, while imports from the US increased 120 percent to $ 3 million.
During the first four months of the year, Japanese polished imports in monetary terms decreased by 0.7 percent to $ 271.1 million, while physical imports rose by 27 percent to 747,695 carats.