Sparkle to return in diamond industry in long term: DTC

The long-term supply and demand trends of the diamond industry remain very promising as markets, notably India and China, are expanding, a top industry official said here.

"In the current downturn, the demand for diamonds has reduced to a single digit, but the supply is going to reduce by 40-50 per cent this year. Therefore, we are likely to see a better market for the diamond industry," Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Managing Director Varda Shine said.

DTC, a division of De Beers UK Ltd, posted a sales of $5.93 billion for 2008, higher than the previous year but below expectation due to the global economic slowdown. It achieved record sales in the first-half of 2008, as a buoyant rough diamond market led to increased demand and prices.

However, this trend was rapidly reversed towards the end of the second-half of the year as the credit crunch led to a severe liquidity squeeze in key global cutting centres, Shine said.

A combination of high inventory levels in the cutting centres and a forecast for a further marginal contraction in 2009 consumer demand is expected to impact global rough sales significantly, he added.

The key operational focus for DTC in 2009 will be to achieve further cost efficiencies in pressured trading environment, while maintaining quality of service.