Polished exports fall 1.5% to $6.61 BN:Israel �06

In December 2006, Israel�s polished diamond exports dropped by 11.7 per cent to $331 million, according to the ministry of industry, trade and labour. During the whole of last year Israel�s polished exports declined by 1.5 per cent to $6.61 billion.

Rough diamond imports in December soared by 44.6 per cent to $531 million, but dropped by 11.4 per cent to $4.7 billion during the entire year.

Rough exports grew by 23.8 per cent in December to $173 million, while falling 23.2 per cent to $2.7 billion during 2006.

Israel�s polished diamond imports grew by 8.7 per cent to $516 million. Full year polished imports were $4 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 3.3 per cent.