Ukraine war hits Surat’s diamond industry hard

Tags: State News National News

The diamond business of Surat has been badly affected due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The city is known for the cutting and polishing of diamonds, but the war has severely affected the supply chain of rough diamonds.

• The big diamond factories in Surat have reduced the working days of the week and the small industries have stopped working for a while.

• Diamond labourers have appealed to the Chief Minister of Gujarat for financial assistance.

• In Mumbai and Surat, a large part of the diamond that comes as a raw material is imported from Russia, but the entire supply chain has been broken due to US sanctions.

• Russian diamonds are generally smaller, accounting for 40 per cent of India's diamond trade by volume and about 30 per cent by value.

• Its business worth $1800 million has been affected by the war with Ukraine.

• Important facts about Diamond

• Diamonds are a solid form of elemental carbon whose atoms are arranged in a crystal structure called a diamond cubic.

• The diamond is the hardest material on Earth. 

• According to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) in India, the diamond resources are concentrated only in three states, Madhya Pradesh has 90.17 percent, followed by Andhra Pradesh has 5.73 percent and Chhattisgarh 4.10 percent. 

• Russia and Botswana have the largest diamond reserves in the world.

• India is known for its diamond cutting and polishing business, especially for small size diamonds.

• Most of the world's diamond cutting and polishing business takes place in India, especially in Surat, Gujarat.

• Diamonds are used in ornaments, grinding, drilling, cutting, and polishing tools.