1 week Ago
Slug: Diamond / Industry Surat: The Diwali vacation in the diamond industry , which used to be of 21 days, has now changed because of global market conditions . While the vacation in natural diamond units is going to be longer, in lab-grown diamond (LGD) units, it has been curtailed. The growing popularity of low-cost LGDs has heavily impacted the demand for high-value natural diamonds .
Further, the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in Israel and neighbouring countries have also impacted the business. Sanctions on Russian rough by G7 countries have also played a major role in the low demand for diamonds Earlier, diamond manufacturing units and trading offices used to follow a 21-day vacation, matching the school vacations. However, due to the slow natural diamond market globally, the vacation is going to be extended this year.
The vacation that started around Oct 26 was expected to end between Nov 15 and Nov 18 in natural diamond units, and manufacturing companies made similar announcements. But with no improvement in polished natural diamond demand and prices of rough, the units are going to extend the vacation up to 30 days. "Vacation in natural diamond units will be extended for around 10 days.
The units are informing their employees to resume work between Nov 25 and Nov 30. It is 10 days longer than the usual vacation period," said Jagdish Khunt, president of Surat Diamond Association (SDA). Khunt said the LGD units have, however, started working or would start operations this week.
There is sufficient rough supply and demand for polished LGD. With the reopening of schools, most of the diamond artisans return to the city three to four days in advance from Saurashtra. This year, the schools will reopen on Monday next.
"Earlier, the diamond units would start operations with the end of school vacations. But this year, natural diamond units are observing a 30-day vacation while some leading LGD units have started working," said Balu Vekariya, Ratnakalakar Vikas Sangh. The diamond industry employs around eight lakh people in Gujarat.
Due to the drop in demand and prices of polished natural diamonds, many leading units are shifting to LGD to protect the jobs of workers. "Trading markets of LGD will start functioning from Nov 25, while polishing will also restart by that time. Some leading units have started LGD operations, while smaller units will start after Nov 25," said Babu Vaghani, Surat LGD Association.
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