Surat, May 16 (KNN) The recession in the diamond industry of Surat has forced several units to extend their summer vacation, reported Hindustan Times quoting people familiar with the matter.

Dinesh Navadiya, regional chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said that apart from the overall slowdown in demand for diamond and diamond jewellery, there is a growing resistance from US and European countries to not buy Russian goods. Almost one third of the roughs processed in Surat are sources from Russia’s Alrosa, a diamond mining company.

“Past experience shows that to overcome the issue of overproduction, the supply needs to be controlled. This time the diamond companies of Surat may take a longer summer vacation. So, say, if only 15-20 companies took summer vacation in May of about two weeks last year, this year about 20 per cent of the 7,000 odd units may go on a month’s vacation. Hopefully this will help improve things in next two to three months,” he said.

Surat’s diamond industry employs close to 8 lakh people and is a major contributor to India’s gems and jewellery exports of about Rs 3 lakh crore.

“Global challenges affected the demand for diamonds in India’s key markets, including USA and China. But certain regions in Europe and South-East Asia fared well. India encountered difficulties due to inconsistent Russian rough diamond supply and challenges with beneficiation, as countries such as Namibia, Botswana, and Angola prefer to have their rough diamonds cut in their own countries,” said Vipul Shah, chairman of GJEPC.

As per reports, workers unions have accused the companies of resorting to massive layoffs, and they alleged that at least four labourers have died in the city in the last 10 days due to the recession- a claim refuted by the industry bodies.

Nanubhai Vekariya, chairman of Surat Diamond Association, also refuted claims of layoffs and suicides of diamond workers due to recession.

However, Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of the Diamond Workers’ Union Gujarat (DWUG), claimed that there have been 10,000 layoffs in the last couple of months due to the recession in Surat.  (KNN Bureau)