The latest statistics from the epicenter of the Chinese diamond trade in Shanghai indicate that the cost of imports and exports in the first half of 2013 slightly increased, the portal Israelidiamond.co.il reports with reference to Diamond World. Meanwhile, it is noted that these figures may seem deceptive, as the volume of diamond trading in the six months of the year decreased significantly compared to the same period in 2012.
During the period from January to June 2013, the diamond trade on the Shanghai Diamond Exchange was estimated at $ 1.98 billion (showing an annual increase of 2.4%). At the same time, the volume of diamond trade fell by 37.6% year-on-year to 33.93 million carats.
The most significant difference was recorded in the segment of rough diamond imports: in the first half of the year, polished diamonds worth $ 726 million were imported to Shanghai (up 19.3% year-on-year) and rough diamonds worth only $ 4.39 million (a 182% compared with the first half of 2012).