Oct. 30--AHMEDABAD -- The Rs 700-billion diamond processing industry in Gujarat which had lost its lustre last year due to the global slump has begun to glitter again, thanks to a growing demand for sparklers from booming economies in the the world.

Jubilant leaders of diamond markets here and in Surat also say about 40 per cent of the 10,000 cutting and polishing units closed down due to recession have reopened and they are racing against time to meet their production targets.

"Thanks to a stable demand from the UAE, Hong Kong and China as well as Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, rough diamond prices are rebounding after falling as much as 65 per cent from September last year through March", Vinu Crystal, president of the Ahmedabad Diamond Association, told Khaleej Times.But, unfortunately, the processors are hamstrung by an acute shortage of skilled artisans many of whom have found alternative jobs in other industries. Higher wages and extra incentives are also being offered to attract, especially, some 75,000 nimble-fingered diamond workers who had joined the embroidery industry.

Indeed, several units have cut short the Diwali vacation to only seven days compared to the three-month break last year after the meltdown forced closure of some 6,000 units in Gujarat which accounts for 72 per cent of the world's processed diamonds and 80 per cent of India's diamond exports.

Last year's Great Depression had snatched the bread out of the mouths of about one million diamond cutters and polishers, with some 90 desperate, laid-off artisans or their starving family members committing suicide in Gujarat, or turning criminals to eke out living. Surat Diamond Association chief C P Vanani told this newspaper on telephone that 200,000 workers of closed units were back to work but at least 50,000 were urgently needed to cope with pre-Christmas orders for precious stones.

mahesh@khaleejtimes.com

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