Surat (Gujarat): With trade coming to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, small diamond traders from Mumbai, who are facing a huge financial crisis, are now moving to Surat in Gujarat in hope of a better future.
The ambitious Diamond Bourse project in Surat is currently under construction and is already attracting many traders from Mumbai. In recent months, diamond traders from Mumbai have booked more than 150 shops in the upcoming bourse.
Pertinently, as many as nine out of the 10 different types of diamonds are processed in Surat. Though Surat has been a center for cutting and polishing of diamonds for long, diamond exports, main transactions, and trade is still concentrated in Mumbai. Many Surat-based diamond polishing companies have their corporate offices in the Diamond Bourse in Mumbai.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of the companies in Mumbai to close their offices.
Though the Diamond Bourse in Surat is still under construction, the badly-hit diamond traders from Mumbai are already shifting their base to Surat. The diamond traders moving from Mumbai to Surat are preferring areas like Varachha, the hub of diamond processing.
Read: Surat textile industry badly hit by COVID, suffers Rs 14.5 cr loss
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Dinesh Nawadia, the chairman of the Gem And Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Surat, said that more than 250 companies are also shifting to Surat from Mumbai. Many traders have already settled down in Surat with their families, he added.
The Diamond Bourse of Surat is scheduled to be ready in the year 2022, and it is estimated that 60 per cent of the diamond business from Mumbai will be shifted here.
The shift is being seen as a big boon for Surat, as it will also help in generating indirect employment in the city. At the same time, the demand for residential properties is also expected to go up with traders continuing to move in, which is expected to bring good news for the real estate sector as well.
Read: COVID-19: With gold artisans returning home, jewellery shop owners in Surat incurring losses
