Diamond Artisans in Surat Turn to Alternate Jobs

Surat : Rakesh Dabhi, 36, a diamond craftsman from Varachha, had never considered selling manchow soup to support his family of three, which includes his wife and two school-aged children. Rakesh, who previously earned an average monthly income of Rs 40,000 by cutting and polishing small diamonds in a diamond unit in Varachha, now earns less than Rs 12,000 per month. Due to the continuous diamond industry slump, the factory owner significantly cut the supply of raw diamonds for processing. Rakesh, who was concerned about his school-aged children, decided to create a soup mart to supplement his family’s income. Rakesh has spent the last month working at the diamond unit in the mornings and selling soup in the afternoons until late at night in Varachha. He now earns Rs 28,000 a month, which is enough to support his family of four.

Rakesh isn’t an isolated case. Scores of diamond artisans in Surat, the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing center, are working petty jobs and running small enterprises to make ends meet during the diamond industry’s ongoing slowdown. The majority of minor diamond facilities are either closed or running at less than 20% capacity due to diminishing demand for diamonds in the international market, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, polished diamond prices falling by roughly 25% in the last one and a half months, and so on.

Ghanshyam Dholariya, a diamond maker, has established a paan shop in Katargam. Five months ago, he was one of several diamond artisans laid off by a reputable diamond business in Varachha. Dholariya sought for a suitable job for almost a month before deciding to create a paan shop to supplement his income. Ghanshyam earns anything between Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000 per month from his paan shop. He has obtained a part-time job at a diamond unit and earns Rs 12,000 per month.

According to industry sources, several diamond units that closed for a 10-day holiday for the Janmashtami celebration have yet to reopen. Tens of hundreds of diamond artisans are unemployed on the diamond streets of Varachha, Katargam, and Mahidharpura. Many diamond artisans have fled to their hometowns in Saurashtra to assist their family members with their ancestral farming pursuits.

Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG), stated, “We are receiving over 30-40 calls from jobless diamond workers in Surat. Due to overproduction and low demand in the foreign markets, diamond facilities are functioning for a few hours to reduce production. However, diamond artisans are looking at alternate ways to earn a living:

Kirti Shah, the owner of a diamond company, stated, “The diamond industry is bracing for very challenging days ahead of the Diwali season. In the previous one and a half months, the Rapaport group has reduced diamond prices by about 25% across multiple categories. 0.30 carat polished diamond prices fell by about 11% in August. This shows a disturbing trend in the diamond sector.”

Shah continued: “The recession in the diamond industry has been going on for the last one year”