Israel’s polished diamond sector recorded a seven percent increase in exports last month, reaching $274 million compared to figures from the same period last year. The nation’s polished diamond exports increased by 14.6 percent in the first half of 2002, reaching $2.6 billion compared to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2001, reported Xinhua.
These positive results were attributed to Israel’s poor security situation, which has swayed jewelers to ship large amounts of the precious stone out of the country since buyers are not interested in visiting the state.
The United States imports 68 percent of Israeli diamond exports, while Hong Kong imports 12 percent, Belgium and Japan each import six percent and Great Britain imports two percent. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
