adminDue to the ongoing Euro zone debt crisis coupled with slowing Asian purchases, rough diamond prices slumped 16 percent last year while demand for end products continued to decline.
Industry experts contend that the diamond market grew by about three to four percent last year compared with growth of 10 percent in 2011 while in 2013, it is expected to register marginal growth again.
In a statement, IDMA president Maxim Shkadov said there was need for a joint approach to avert “looming disaster” in the industry.
“Surely, the producers too, must know that sales of diamond jewellery are declining, and are losing market share within the luxury goods consumer market,” he said.
“They, too, must know that a joint, dynamic effort is needed to increase demand for diamonds.”
The IDMA is an organisation representing diamond manufacturers from across the world and has 16 member associations at present.
Shkadov queried why producers were demanding prices that were higher than for polished products and why they were not limiting the flow of rough diamonds onto the oversupplied market.
“If the suppliers would care to answer these questions honestly, it would also help them understand where they might find themselves sooner than they expect – in the doldrums, together with the manufacturers.
“But when the client is turned into some kind of money extraction machine, we find ourselves where we are now. And no machine can function without the necessary lubricant to keep the cogs moving,” said Shkadov.
Analysts, however, expect a rebound in prices this year following an announcement by De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer late last year that it was going to constrain supply in 2013. — New Ziana
Online Reporter