DiamondBuzz
India’s Natural Diamonds Exports Lead In Value As Polished LGD Exports Overtake In Volume
Natural Diamonds Continued To Dominate In Overall Export Value Due To Their Substantially Higher Price Realization Per Carat.
India’s export volume of polished lab growns has overtaken that of natural diamonds for the first time.India’s diamond export industry has crossed a historic threshold, with the volume of polished lab-grown diamonds surpassing natural diamonds for the first time. However, a massive pricing disparity ensures that mined gems still command the financial throne.
According to newly released data from the GJEPC for the fiscal year ending March 2026, lab-grown exports surged by nearly 31% to reach 18.84 million carats. Conversely, natural diamond exports contracted by roughly 4%, slipping to 16.00 million carats.
During the fiscal period, natural diamonds accounted for an export volume of 16.00 million carats, with an average price of $760 per carat, generating total fiscal revenue of $12.16 billion. In comparison, lab-grown diamonds recorded a higher export volume of 18.84 million carats; however, with an average price of only $60 per carat, they generated significantly lower total fiscal revenue of US$1.13 billion. While lab-grown diamonds surpassed natural diamonds in volume terms, natural diamonds continued to dominate in overall export value due to their substantially higher price realization per carat.
Despite the revenue gap, the volume flip highlights an astronomical growth trajectory; a decade ago, in fiscal 2015-16, India exported a mere 10,000 carats of lab-grown diamonds. Early data for April 2026 indicates this trend is locking in, with lab-grown volumes edging past naturals at 1.36 million carats to 1.34 million carats, respectively.
DiamondBuzz
De Beers Group Sets Out Portfolio and Organisational Actions to Support Long-Term Value Creation
Company outlines strategic cost optimisation, portfolio streamlining and operational changes to strengthen resilience while positioning for long-term growth in the natural diamond industry.
De Beers Group is advancing delivery of its business streamlining by setting out a number of planned portfolio and organisational changes to ensure an efficient cost base that strengthens resilience in the near-term while enhancing future competitiveness and retaining optionality as industry conditions improve.
Since 2024, De Beers has been streamlining its business in line with its Origins strategy to reduce costs, divest non-core assets and prioritise investment in activities that create the most value. Significant progress has been made, with more than $100 million of annual overhead costs removed from the business, the sale or closure of a number of non-core assets and significant capital and cost reconfigurations to asset expansion projects.
Simultaneously, De Beers has reinvested in natural diamond category marketing to support the industry’s efforts to grow natural diamond demand, launching new large-scale campaigns and collaborating with key stakeholders across the value chain to foster industry-wide investment. Global consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery returned to growth in 2025, while natural diamond sales increased across US independent jewellers in 2025 and into Q1 2026, led by higher value diamonds and those promoted by De Beers’ Desert Diamonds marketing campaign.
On the supply side, global rough diamond production is now decreasing, with several producers closing mines during 2026. Whilst the increasing rarity of diamonds and the emerging signs of improvement in consumer demand are likely to support longer-term value creation, rough diamond trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the near-term due to cyclical and industry-specific factors.
Consistent with recent actions to improve business resilience, De Beers intends to pause production at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years to reduce costs while also rephasing capital expenditure on its underground project. This will involve critical infrastructure investment to enhance the capacity and efficiency of the mine, with the intention to support future production growth as business and industry conditions improve.
De Beers is engaging with stakeholders in accordance with relevant requirements and the company’s values as it moves through this process, and will both support impacted employees and continue to invest in its community and Social and Labour Plan commitments.
This proposed action at Venetia Mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada.
In parallel, De Beers plans to reconfigure its global operating model to refocus and prioritise resources on the core operational businesses and reduce its central corporate cost base.
Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, said:

“In line with our commitment to focus and streamline our business, we are making a number of changes to De Beers to ensure greater business resilience in the near-term, while supporting long-term value creation. We recognise the protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves, though we are encouraged by signs of consumer demand growth in the US and beyond, particularly in higher quality diamonds.
Global rough diamond supply is falling, bringing more support to the market. The changes we are making to our business are focused on underpinning our efficiency now and into the future, favourably positioning De Beers in its leadership role.”
De Beers Group will maintain current production levels through its other operations, and previous production guidance remains unchanged.
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