Rough and polished diamond trade in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rose sharply in the first half of this year to 135.3 million carats.
The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) said it sold 113.1 million carats of natural rough diamonds and 6.3 million carats of polished diamonds (119.4 million carats in total) during the period, up 12% year-on-year.
The dollar value of the transactions was not disclosed. In 2022, total rough and polished diamond trade was worth $37.4 billion, up 17% from the previous year. Last year, that figure reached $38.3 billion.
Trading in lab-grown diamonds (LGD) and polished diamonds on the DDE grew 51% year-on-year to 15.9 million carats in the first half of the year. In this regard, the growth in trade in rough LGD alone was 62%. The total volume of natural and lab-grown rough and polished diamonds amounted to 135.3 million carats.
As the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC), within which the DDE operates, stated in this regard, “through these growing figures, DMCC continues to strengthen Dubai’s status as the world’s leading trading hub for diamonds and precious stones.”
Currently, DMCC accounts for 15% of all foreign direct investment in Dubai (last year, this figure was 11%), as well as 7% of the emirate’s GDP.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
