According to reports,during the first quarter of the year 2007 US polished diamond imports grew by 7 per cent to $5.59 billion, but fell 15.2 per cent in volume terms to 4.99 million carats over the same span a year ago, according to official statistics.%% The average value of polished imports during the period was $1,120 per carat.%% Polished imports from India, the US’s second-highest supplier in the year-to-date, grew by 5.4 per cent to $1.13 billion and decreased by 16 per cent to 2.9 million carats to average $390 per carat.%% Israel was the leading supplier in terms of value and volume during the period. From January-to-April 2007, imports from Israel grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.91 billion and had a per-carat value of $2,525. %% Belgium, the third-highest supplier in terms of value and volume, shipped polished goods worth $921.16 million to the US in the four-month period, an increase of 9.4 per cent versus the same period last year; averaging $1,914 per carat.%% South Africa’s polished exports to the US in the year-to-date averaged $7,191 per carat, growing 54 per cent in value to $231.88 million. In the cumulative year, imports from Switzerland, the sixth-largest supplier, reached a per carat value of $17,422.%%During the month of April 2007, US polished diamond imports grew by 8.4 per cent to $1.21 billion versus April 2006, and fell by 8 per cent to 1.05 million carats, with an average value of $1,147 per carat.