Business Email for Exporters
in Surat

Exporters in Surat: what the practice actually looks like

Surat runs two enormous export trades side by side. The first is diamonds: rough imported largely through Mumbai is cut and polished in the Mahidharpura and Varachha units and in the Surat Diamond Bourse at Khajod, then exported as polished stones to Antwerp, Dubai, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv and New York, moving as small, extremely high-value air consignments with their own valuation, Kimberley Process and customs-appraisal procedures. The second is man-made fabric — polyester and viscose woven and processed in the Pandesara, Sachin and Katargam mills — exported in volume to Africa, the Gulf and Southeast Asia as grey and finished fabric and made-ups. Containers move through Hazira nearby and through Mundra and Nhava Sheva, with ICD Sachin handling inland clearance. Very few Indian cities require an export team to handle both a courier-sized parcel worth crores and a full container of fabric in the same week.

Surat is the diamond capital of the world in the literal sense — the overwhelming majority of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished here, mostly in Varachha and Katargam. Alongside it runs an enormous man-made fabric and saree industry centred on the Ring Road markets, and Hazira holds heavy industry including petrochemicals, gas and steel.

An estimated nine out of ten of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished in Surat, and the city is also India’s largest producer of man-made fabric. The Surat Diamond Bourse, opened recently, is among the largest office buildings in the world by floor area.

For the profession-wide picture — how exporters across India handle enquiry intake, document exchange, and record retention over email — see our guide for exporters.