Light at the End of Tunnel, says Dvash
August 11, 20
(IDEX Online) - There is light at the end of the tunnel for the diamond industry, says WFDB acting president Yoram Dvash.
COVID-19 has become a fact of life, he tells members in a newsletter, but there is cause for optimism.
Mr Dvash (pictured) heads the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and is also president of the Israel Diamond Exchange.
He praises the two biggest diamond miners, Alrosa and De Beers, for their "responsible" policy of limiting production and offering more flexible terms to their buyers.
And he says the slow return to work in Surat, the world's cutting and polishing capital, has had a positive effect on the diamond pipeline.
After a washout first half of 2020, with trade down by up to 80 per cent, he identifies four reasons to be hopeful:
- Diamond prices are for the most part holding steady, mainly due to shortages in various categories.
- Q3 2020 is seeing smaller export and import drops, with July showing around 50 per cent declines year over year.
- Manufacturers' profit margins have improved and are actually better than before the pandemic, as they buy only the rough they need to meet demand.
- China has shown strong demand with sales soaring after the lockdown and independent jewelers in the USA are reporting steady demand for jewelry to celebrate life-cycle events.