Coronavirus is impacting diamond trade, claim Surat diamantaires

The Coronavirus outbreak in China and the threat posed by it is adversely affecting the diamond trade, claimed diamantaires of Surat.

Speaking to ANI, a diamantaire Kirti Shah said, "Many traders have offices in China and Hong Kong. The fear of the spread of Coronavirus has caused almost all offices there to close. The staff there is refusing to stay."

"We have markets in Hong Kong and China. Earlier, the anti-government protests in Hong Kong led to an impact on diamond trade then it got stabilized. But now Coronavirus spread has again impacted the trade," he said.

"We have most of the exports in Hong Kong. China is also an important center for polished diamonds. If the coronavirus crisis continues then it will impact the diamond trade market. We will lose our payments as our product will not be sold," he added.