The latest wave of Covid-19 in China took a toll on polished diamond imports and the diamond retail market since March 2022, as the administration strengthened preventive and control measures nationwide.
According to the latest data from the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), diamond transactions on the SDE totalled $2.056 billion from January through June 2022, decreasing 46.2% compared to the same period in 2021. The diamond transaction value records the total rough and polished shipments in and out of the SDE, and reflects how robust the trading activities are. Meanwhile, net import of polished diamonds reached US$1.01 billion, declining 35.9% compared with 2021.
Since June, the diamond market has shown signs of recovery as the Covid-19 pandemic has been effectively contained across the country, SDE said in a statement. Net polished diamond import through the SDE reached US$441 million in the month of June, up 48% year-on-year.
“With the launch of economic stimulus packages by the Chinese government, we believe the domestic consumer market will be back to the track of growth in the second half of the year. The demand for wedding and diamond jewellery, which was greatly suppressed by pandemic in the first half of the year, will be gradually released,” concluded Lin Qiang, President of the SDE and Vice Chairman of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB).
From 2002 to 2021, net import of polished diamonds via the SDE has grown from $31 million to a record high of $2.924 billion, with a total increase of 94 times and an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, displaying a wavy growth pattern since 2010.