Indian polished natural diamond exports contracted 10% on-year last fiscal and 30% in the first quarter of this fiscal, driven by reduced demand from the key markets such as US and China.
Last fiscal saw significant volatility in the prices of roughs, followed by a decline in demand in the second half. There were two reasons for this - the Russia-Ukraine war, and rate-hike moves by major central banks to curb inflation.
Increasing penetration of lab-grown diamonds is also posing a threat to natural diamonds, primarily the large-carat ones in the US.
Over the medium term, holiday-season demand and ongoing caution in purchases will be monitorable.
That said, India will continue to be the major global centre for polishing of natural diamonds.
While prices remain a function of the inventory build-up across the value chain, miners will continue to hold sway over the prices of natural diamond roughs.
On the other hand, demand for polished natural diamonds and uptake of lab-grown diamonds will influence the prices of polished diamonds.
In this milieu, CRISIL Ratings is organising a webinar where its experts will present their views on:
The fundamentals of the diamond sector
Impact of volatile global macroeconomic environment and inflationary headwinds
Outlook on demand from key geographies and supply dynamics
Trend in the prices of natural and lab-grown diamonds, and operating margins of polishers
Working capital cycle roadmap
Credit outlook
This will be followed by a panel discussion with industry experts and a Q&A session.
Disclaimer: This event and its content are intellectual property and confidential information of CRISIL. Any use of the same without written permission of CRISIL is illegal and hence punishable. Recording the webinar in any form in full or part or copying, altering, distributing or streaming the webinar is strictly prohibited and violation will attract legal action.
