India’s polished diamond exports grew 16 percent year on year to $1.1 billion in December ‎‎2013, according to preliminary data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). By ‎volume, exports dropped 8 percent to 1.874 million carats. ‎

Polished imports fell 11 percent to $380 million during the month. India’s net ‎polished exports, representing the excess of exports over imports, rose 37 percent to $720 ‎million.‎

India’s rough diamond imports declined 7 percent to $1.652 billion in December, while rough ‎exports increased 32 percent to $104 million. Net rough imports, or the excess of ‎imports over exports, fell 8 percent to $1.548 billion.‎

India’s December net diamond account, which is calculated as the total of polished and ‎rough exports less total imports, improved to a deficit of $828 million from a deficit of $1.162 billion one year ago.‎

In December, India's imports of rough synthetic stones, including synthetic diamonds and gemstones, more than doubled to $6.8 million, while synthetic stone imports declined 50 percent to $6.54 million. Total synthetic stone exports more than doubled to $7.4 million.

During the full year 2013, India’s polished exports rose 21 percent to $20.484 billion, while ‎polished imports grew 29 percent to $6.864 billion, according to Rapaport News calculations. Rough imports rose 8 percent to ‎‎$16.304 billion and rough exports grew 17 percent to $1.785 billion.‎ India’s net diamond account for the 2013 calendar year improved to a deficit of $900 million, from a ‎deficit of $1.949 billion one year earlier. ‎

For the first 12 months of 2013, India's rough synthetic stones by value more than doubled to $75 million, synthetic stone imports grew 62 percent to $82.8 million and total synthetic exports rose 14 percent to $56 million.