Ukraine war takes sheen off Gujarat's diamond industry

Ahmedabad: The Russia-Ukraine war has adversely affected the livelihood of lakhs of workers of the diamond industry in Gujarat, especially in rural parts of Saurashtra region where many units import small-size diamonds from Russia for processing and polishing, according to industry representatives.

The State's diamond industry employs nearly 15 lakh workers, says Dinesh Navadiya, regional chairman, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Due to the shortage of supply of small-size rough diamonds from Russia, businessmen in Gujarat are forced to buy the raw material from African countries and other places, affecting their profits.

Hence, the diamond units in the State have curtailed the working hours of their workers and polishers, thus impacting their livelihood, he said.

The processing of big-size diamonds is mainly carried out at units in the State's Surat city. The US, where 70 per cent of the cut and polished diamonds are exported from India, has imposed a ban on Russian companies.

Navadiya said a few large companies in the US have already sent them emails, saying they will not purchase goods of Russian-origin.

Hence, this has adversely affected the diamond industry workers in Gujarat, mainly in Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Amreli and Junagadh districts of Saurashtra as well as in some northern parts of the state, the industry stakeholders said.

"We had been importing nearly 27 per cent of rough diamonds from Russia. But, due to the war, now that much quantity is not reaching the processing units in Gujarat, affecting the work there," Navadiya said.

Nearly 50 per cent of the entire workforce involved in diamond processing in Gujarat works on small-size diamonds, locally known as "patli", he said.

Before the war, about 30 per cent of the total rough diamonds imported to Gujarat for polishing were brought from Alrosa, the Russian diamond mining company, he said.