The global diamond-business hub reports hectic activity ahead
of Christmas; a large number of traders there have roots in Gujarat.
With Christmas less than five weeks away, there are reports of hectic activity at centres of the international diamond trade such as Antwerp in Belgium.
The Antwerp diamond exchange, which has a large number of diamond traders of Gujarati origin, is reporting good demand levels as well as a substantial growth in buyers from Europe, the US and other places. “The demand for polished diamonds, especially fancy gems, is quite good. In fact, it is getting better every week, and there is shortage of several varieties of diamonds,” said Kiran Shah, an Antwerp diamond trader.
“We have high hopes from the coming Christmas season,” Shah said, adding that he expected the demand to improve in the run up to the festival. Diamond trader Anil Mehta said the outlook for diamond had turned positive on the back of the recovery in the financial markets.
“Things are looking good, not only in Antwerp, but also in New York, Hong Kong, Israel, Mumbai, the Far East, and other diamond markets,” he said. “Jewellers are stocking up goods in anticipation of good sales. We are hoping the momentum will sustain till Christmas.”
The diamond industry had suffered heavily during the global economic slump in 2008, as cash supplies had dried up because of the decline in sales. Demand suffered the most in the US, which is the world’s largest consumer of diamonds accounting for nearly half the diamonds consumed globally.
Several diamantaires had shut down because of the crisis, while an estimated two lakh jobs were lost in Surat and Mumbai. The Antwerp diamond industry was also badly hit by the fall in demand.
Demand had also suffered in Europe, the Middle East and other important markets. But with recession showing signs of ending, the industry is hopeful of good sales in the festival season.
Traders are happy with the pre-Christmas demand which, they say, is much better than last year. They are, however, equally worried about the spurt in rough diamond prices, which have gone up by 10-12% in the past two months, primarily due to increased demand in India.
“Prices of diamond roughs are way out of sync with those of polished diamonds,” Dinesh Navadia, owner of Tiku Gems, told DNA from Antwerp.
“This will cause problems when goods currently under processing reach the market.
Prices of polished diamonds are likely to come under pressure because of the glut of goods in the coming weeks.” Navadia added that they were afraid of a repeat of past problems if production of polished diamonds was not controlled. Prices of polished diamonds have remained more or less stable in the past few weeks, but industry experts expect a price rise from next week.
“A hike in polished diamond prices is very much on the cards when Rapaport announces its price list next week. This could be another reason why buying has picked up,” said Shailesh Bhansali, an Antwerp diamond trader.
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