OREANDA-NEWS  Indian participants in the diamond industry are actively trying to increase the export of diamonds to ASEAN countries and China, fearing an imminent ban on the import of stones from 1 carat to the United States due to suspicions of their Russian origin, writes the Indian edition of The Economic Times.

According to Indian sources in the industry, restrictions on imports to the United States will be announced in September, and they will begin to operate in January 2024. The restrictions will be justified by the fact that ALROSA may be the producer of stones coming from India.

Indian cutters consider such destinations as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, other ASEAN countries and China as alternatives. The largest market for jewelry consumption is the United States with a share of about 40%, but diamond exports to the United States are falling both due to fears of a recession and fears of sanctions on stones of Russian origin.

Gross diamond exports from India in June decreased by 31.5% YoY, to $1.38 billion (from $2.02 billion a year earlier). This trend is unlikely to change in July, according to Vipul Shah, head of GJEPC. The volume of cutting and diamonds in Surat decreased after the introduction of US sanctions against ALROSA.

"The industry must survive, and therefore we must penetrate into other countries," Shah described the situation. In parallel, India is negotiating with the G7 countries, he said.

The G7 leaders at a meeting in May this year adopted a declaration on restricting trade in Russian diamonds, which is now estimated at $4-5 billion a year. In order to determine the origin of Russian diamonds, G7 seeks to improve tracking methods, although at the moment there is no technology to determine the origin of small diamonds that have been cut and polished.