Why is the Russia-Ukraine war affecting Surat's diamond workers? | The Hindu

Surat is known as India’s diamond city. Nearly five lakh people in rural Gujarat are engaged in cutting and polishing diamonds.

But for the past few months, they have had almost no work. To make things worse, around 30,000-50,000 diamond workers have already lost their jobs.

And the faraway war in Ukraine is to be blamed.

Russia is one of India's biggest suppliers of rough gemstones. And the USA consumes around 75% of the end products.

Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war, the USA has put a ban on Russian companies.

Western nations have also cut Russia off from the SWIFT international payments network. With the payment system getting stuck, the supply of raw materials has shrunk.

The war in Europe also comes right after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The export of diamonds boomed during the lockdown. India exported about $37 billion in 2021-22 as compared with $27 billion in the previous year

But traders say demand from the US and Europe has nosedived in recent months as companies like Signet, Tiffany & Co., refuse to buy diamonds sourced from Russia.

Many workers, however, complain that they were not paid salaries for months during the pandemic.

To help the workers who have lost their jobs, the Gujarat Diamond Workers' Union has asked for a $10 billion relief package. Both workers and traders in India’s diamond city are praying for the war in Europe to end.

Reporting: A.M. Jigeesh
Voiceover: Abhinaya Sriram
Production: Kivleen Kaur Sahni

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