In April, Japan�s polished diamond imports witnessed a 2.1% increase to $87.49 million by value and a 23.7% increase by volume to 211,318 carats, at an average price of $414.05 per carat according to data released by Japan�s Jewelry Trade Center Inc. (JTC).

Polished diamond imports from India in the same period grew by 5% to $38.88 million, and rose 32% to 167,758 carats by weight. In April, India was Japan�s largest source for polished diamonds, accounting for 44.4% by value and 79.4% by volume.

Polished imports from the US grew by 63.8 per cent to a moderate $2.42 million, while Belgium registered a 29 per cent increase to $24.50 million. China, Israel and Russia saw diamond imports decline by 59.3 per cent to $418,000, 41.2 per cent to $7.75 million and 22.8 per cent to $3 million respectively.

In the January-to-April period, polished diamond imports into Japan reached $372.58 million, a decrease of 4.4%. In terms of volume, polished diamond imports grew 2.1% 896,403 carats during the four-month period.