GJEPC forms non-profit in Surat for smoother diamond trade

There are over 4,000 diamond manufacturing companies in Surat, where natural rough diamonds and lab-grown diamonds are cut and polished. Over 5 lakh people are engaged in cutting and polishing work.

Savaliya added, “We will form a board of around 10 to 12 members in SMDO, and make members who are small and medium players. The SMDO will collect the total demand for rough diamonds and place it with the ODC in Botswana. Once the rough diamonds are procured from ODC, we will be distributed to the members at preferred rates, as per their demands. Through these procedures, the small and medium diamond manufacturers will benefit.”

He further added, “During our meeting with the Botswana government officials and ministers, we raised the issue of purchasing rough diamonds in large quantities to support the small and medium players of Surat. They agreed to the proposal.”

Sources in the diamond industry said demand for cut-and-polished natural diamonds in the global market has declined over the last couple of years due to the Russia-Ukraine War, the Israel-Palestine War and US tariffs.

Surat Diamond Association president Jagdish Khunt said, “With poor demand in the global market, the diamond manufacturers, who were earlier into cutting and polishing natural diamonds, have shifted to cutting and polishing of LGD (lab-grown diamonds). Many factories in Surat operate a parallel unit on the same premises, where natural diamonds are cut and polished on one side and LGD on the other. The process of cutting and polishing for both types of diamonds is the same. We have come across the SMDO concept, which will greatly benefit the natural diamond industry once it regains its lost momentum.”