A silver lining in Surat's diamond industry amid production crisis

Lower output has let the industry hold on to bargaining power over polished gems

The diamond capital has found an upside to a production crisis triggered by labour shortage.

Like elsewhere, Surat’s diamond industry wasn’t spared by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the second wave of the virus led to an exodus of workers and subsequent dip in production. But that has also allowed it to hold on to its bargaining power over polished diamonds as production falls short of demand.

Known for polishing nine out of ten diamonds in the world, Surat boasts roughly 6,000 polishing units that employ over 700,000 workers and clock an annual turnover of $24 billion or Rs 1.7 trillion.