Hong Kong increases purchases of Russian apples fivefold 13:09

Hong Kong increased its purchases of natural diamonds from Russia fivefold to $252.3 million in January-September 2023, ranking among the top 5 importers for the first time since 2017. writes about this RIA News referring to information from statistical services of different countries.

During the said period, India was the leader, increasing its purchases of Russian diamonds by 16% to almost 1 billion dollars, while Belgium ranked second with 315 million dollars, while imports fell fourfold. The top five also included Armenia (purchases of Russian diamonds increased by one and a half times to $200 million) and China (increased by 2.8 times to $40.7 million).

The USA, Japan, South Africa, Mauritius, Macau and Azerbaijan also purchased diamonds from Russia in January-September. The UAE does not currently disclose statistical information on this matter. Last year, the main buyer of diamonds from Moscow was Abu Dhabi; imports reached 1.6 billion dollars.

On the eve of the European Union complete Preparation of the 12th anti-Russian sanctions package, which includes a ban on the import of diamonds from the Russian Federation to the G7 countries. G7 includes the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the USA. A phased ban on imports of Russian diamonds from third countries may be introduced in the spring. And they plan to create a “trusted verification and certification mechanism” for rough diamonds by September 1.

Russian President Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on December 7 that domestic companies are preparing for the West to impose sanctions on Russian diamonds. A Kremlin official explained that the restrictions have been known for several months and that domestic companies are aware of future risks and have taken measures to prevent them.

Formerly US Treasury extended Sanctions against Russia.