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India is in talks with the World Diamond Council and G7 countries to limit the impact of the grouping’s ban on direct import of non-industrial diamonds from Russia from January 2024 announced recently, officials have said.
The G7 countries, which include the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada, have announced a ban on direct import of non-industrial diamonds, mined, processed or produced in Russia from January 2024. The move is part of the economic sanctions that the West is imposing on Russia for continuing its war against Ukraine.
Restrictions have also been imposed on the import of Russian diamonds processed by third countries, including India, from March 2024, which has the Indian industry worried.
“There is this issue of looking at the Russian diamonds coming into the diamond value chain. So, there was a visit by a team from the World Diamond Council. Of course, there should be controls on the rough diamond coming from Russia. But, when the diamonds are processed in India, there should not be any further checks on them because you can always maintain tracing and tracking of the rough damage,” the official said.
Big relief
India’s proposal has been agreed to and is a big relief for the Indian diamond industry, the official added. Talks between India and the G7 will continue to ensure that Indian diamond industry is not unduly hurt.
India is an important stakeholder in global diamond trade, with about 90 per cent market share in cutting and polishing natural diamonds and exporting $23 billion annually.
The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India recently stated the interests of SMEs and marginal diamond units should be kept in mind by the G-7 nations that when regulating the sanctions . Their active contribution to this industry and the millions of livelihoods which are dependent on it should stay in focus, the council said.
The G7 is working on a traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds and wants to introduce it by September next year. Once it is in place, a diamond could be tracked through the entire supply chain–right from when it is mined to when it reaches the consumer.
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