Zürcher Nachrichten - Ukraine war robs India's 'Diamond City' of its sparkle

EUR -
AED 4.172469
AFN 81.226466
ALL 100.310777
AMD 444.244667
ANG 2.03356
AOA 1042.821867
ARS 1220.13733
AUD 1.807145
AWG 2.044748
AZN 1.935661
BAM 1.960237
BBD 2.294213
BDT 138.054564
BGN 1.961833
BHD 0.42777
BIF 3323.851373
BMD 1.135971
BND 1.500396
BOB 7.851771
BRL 6.659749
BSD 1.136282
BTN 97.823546
BWP 15.847869
BYN 3.718549
BYR 22265.033118
BZD 2.282366
CAD 1.575649
CDF 3265.353315
CHF 0.926352
CLF 0.02877
CLP 1104.02802
CNY 8.283619
CNH 8.27647
COP 4864.114557
CRC 583.02471
CUC 1.135971
CUP 30.103234
CVE 111.723203
CZK 25.124845
DJF 201.885227
DKK 7.469696
DOP 70.093827
DZD 149.546094
EGP 58.259952
ERN 17.039566
ETB 147.907835
FJD 2.589451
FKP 0.877892
GBP 0.868347
GEL 3.135724
GGP 0.877892
GHS 17.612667
GIP 0.877892
GMD 81.97757
GNF 9843.413373
GTQ 8.764715
GYD 237.731535
HKD 8.807798
HNL 29.390533
HRK 7.534333
HTG 149.179304
HUF 414.088552
IDR 19109.585272
ILS 4.201662
IMP 0.877892
INR 98.038602
IQD 1485.451499
IRR 47798.30669
ISK 147.251747
JEP 0.877892
JMD 179.590494
JOD 0.805448
JPY 162.999927
KES 147.160836
KGS 98.898799
KHR 4548.356066
KMF 499.314282
KPW 1022.440932
KRW 1648.225426
KWD 0.348815
KYD 0.941553
KZT 586.195075
LAK 24617.850658
LBP 102082.322949
LKR 337.409727
LRD 227.259252
LSL 22.186263
LTL 3.354228
LVL 0.687138
LYD 6.294087
MAD 10.683391
MDL 20.156928
MGA 5200.797548
MKD 63.597766
MMK 2385.165785
MNT 3990.8206
MOP 9.079058
MRU 45.060918
MUR 51.300752
MVR 17.547018
MWK 1971.304559
MXN 23.079983
MYR 5.077285
MZN 72.556916
NAD 22.186263
NGN 1817.358117
NIO 41.816399
NOK 12.110548
NPR 156.935292
NZD 1.95045
OMR 0.437333
PAB 1.135971
PEN 4.235062
PGK 4.652358
PHP 65.146942
PKR 318.897173
PLN 4.333147
PYG 9105.931016
QAR 4.135359
RON 5.052464
RSD 118.877306
RUB 95.882169
RWF 1609.569838
SAR 4.260315
SBD 9.65559
SCR 16.416149
SDG 681.936428
SEK 11.095337
SGD 1.512044
SHP 0.892695
SLE 25.877842
SLL 23820.746739
SOS 647.75997
SRD 41.645037
STD 23512.307787
SVC 9.940167
SYP 14770.008163
SZL 22.186263
THB 38.478429
TJS 12.348911
TMT 3.974862
TND 3.444377
TOP 2.736183
TRY 43.249673
TTD 7.719493
TWD 37.26551
TZS 3032.703706
UAH 46.978735
UGX 4186.088837
USD 1.135971
UYU 49.285695
UZS 14733.852796
VES 84.749525
VND 29279.215196
VUV 142.891608
WST 3.235249
XAF 665.752377
XAG 0.035233
XAU 0.000351
XCD 3.074402
XDR 0.849168
XOF 665.752377
XPF 119.331742
YER 278.736868
ZAR 21.713523
ZMK 10225.106937
ZMW 31.898096
ZWL 365.782223
  • RBGPF

    62.0100

    62.01

    +100%

  • SCS

    -0.0300

    10.18

    -0.29%

  • RELX

    0.1000

    49.12

    +0.2%

  • BCC

    0.9800

    95.66

    +1.02%

  • NGG

    2.4700

    68.06

    +3.63%

  • CMSC

    -0.3500

    21.8

    -1.61%

  • BCE

    0.3800

    21.36

    +1.78%

  • RIO

    1.9900

    56.86

    +3.5%

  • CMSD

    -0.3000

    21.9

    -1.37%

  • JRI

    0.1450

    11.91

    +1.22%

  • GSK

    1.0400

    34.64

    +3%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    9.12

    -0.11%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.73

    +3.21%

  • BP

    0.3600

    26.59

    +1.35%

  • BTI

    1.0200

    41.57

    +2.45%

  • AZN

    1.4200

    66.29

    +2.14%

Ukraine war robs India's 'Diamond City' of its sparkle
Ukraine war robs India's 'Diamond City' of its sparkle / Photo: Punit PARANJPE - AFP

Ukraine war robs India's 'Diamond City' of its sparkle

Yogesh Zanzamera lays out his bed on the floor of the factory where he works and lives, one of around two million Indians polishing diamonds in an industry being hit hard by the Ukraine war.

Text size:

The air reeking from the only toilet for 35-40 people, conditions at workshops like this in Gujarat state leave workers at risk of lung disease, deteriorating vision and other illnesses.

But Zanzamera and others like him have other more immediate worries: the faraway war in Europe and the resulting sanctions on Russia, India's biggest supplier of "rough" gemstones and a long-standing strategic ally.

"There are not enough diamonds. Because of that, there is not enough work," Zanzamera, 44, told AFP at the workshop, situated up some dingy stairs in Surat where he has worked since leaving school at 13.

"The war should end. Everybody's livelihood depends on the war ending."

His monthly pay packet of 20,000 rupees ($260) is already down 20-30 percent, he says.

But he is one of the lucky ones -- the local trade union estimates that between 30,000 and 50,000 diamond workers in Surat have lost their jobs.

- Rough times -

Originally founded as a port city at the mouth of the Tapi river, Surat earned a reputation as the "Diamond City of India" in the 1960s and '70s.

Now, some 90 percent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in the bustling industrial city and elsewhere in the western state of Gujarat.

Traders in Surat's crowded Mahidharpura market openly trade diamonds worth millions of dollars on the streets each day, carrying the precious gems loose in paper wrappings.

"If it doesn't go through Surat, a diamond is not a diamond," said Chirag Patel, CEO of Chirag Gems.

Russian mining giants like Alrosa traditionally accounted for over a third of India's rough diamonds, but supply has all but stopped because of Western sanctions.

For Chirag Gems, Russia was even more important, accounting for half the 900 "roughs" that his firm turns into dazzling gems that sell anywhere from $150 to $150,000.

Using state-of-the-art scanning and laser-cutting machines, his factory is better than most, with air-conditioning and exhaust systems protecting workers from inhaling dangerous dust.

But supply has shrunk to a tenth of what it was in the months since Western sanctions cut Russia off from the SWIFT international payments network in March.

"We are not getting goods from Russia because the payments system is stuck due to the war," Patel, 32, told AFP, saying he is trying to bridge the gap with supplies from South Africa and Ghana.

- Demand at Tiffany's -

The June-to-September wedding season in the United States is a crucial period for diamond exporters, Patel says.

The US accounted for more than 40 percent of India's $24 billion exports of cut and polished diamonds in the financial year to March, data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) shows.

But along with supply, traders say demand from the United States and Europe, too, has nosedived in recent months as companies like Signet, Tiffany & Co, Chopard and Pandora refuse to buy diamonds sourced from Russia.

Workers like Dipak Prajapati have suffered the consequences. In May he lost a job in May that paid $320 a month to support his family of six.

"I called the company to ask when I could resume work, but they said they don't have any work for me and told me to stay home," the 37-year-old told AFP.

"Sixty percent of the jobs in Surat run on diamonds. Diamonds are the biggest industry in Surat. I don't know any work other than diamonds."

His layoff comes close on the heels of pandemic shutdowns.

"We didn't get any salaries for six to eight months. We had to borrow money from all sides to survive and are still paying back those loans," Prajapati said.

The Gujarat Diamond Workers' Union has asked Gujarat's chief minister for a 10-billion-rupee ($128-million) relief package for workers who have lost their jobs.

"We told him that if the situation does not improve in the coming days, our workers will be compelled to commit suicide," union vice-president Bhavesh Tank said.

"Surat has given the world so much," Tank says. "Surat has scrubbed diamonds for the entire world but our diamond workers are now getting scrubbed."

"We can only pray to God that the war will end. If the war does not end, we don't know how bad things will get."

F.Carpenteri--NZN