The global diamond industry is currently in a frantic race to stay ahead of the G-7 ban on Russian gems .
Effective from March 1, Western countries will gradually curb the import of Russian stones that have been processed in third-party nations.
“We can say with confidence that the departure of Russian diamond suppliers from the Antwerp Diamond Exchange will be a painful blow for the latter since Russia accounted for 34.9% of global diamond production at the end of 2022 (according to the Kimberley Process),” said Vasily Danilov, Analyst at Veles Captial Investment Company to Sputnik.
The statistics clearly indicate that India surpassed Belgium in terms of the financial aspect of importing Russian diamonds from January to September 2023. This change coincided with a significant decrease in Belgium's purchasing volume, according to an analysis of data from state statistical services by Sputnik. Moreover, Hong Kong made a notable comeback in the top five list of diamond purchasers during this period, marking its first appearance since 2017. However, information regarding the diamond purchases of the UAE, another major buyer, was not disclosed.
India & UAE Unlikely to Comply With G-7 Diamond Ban
According to Danilov, Belgium isn't the sole intermediary nation in the global diamond trade. Given that India is home to over 90% of the world diamond cutting and polishing acitivities, there is an option of supplying stones directly to Indian cutters, for instance at venues such as the Mumbai Diamond Exchange. Additionally, there are diamond exchanges in other friendly countries, with the Dubai Diamond Exchange being the most promising among them.
“There are already trading platforms in London, the UAE, Hong Kong, India and other countries. The only question is their scale. With the EU’s refusal of Russian precious stones, the popularity of alternative platforms should grow, as well as trade volumes,” says BCS World of Investments stock market expert Dmitry Puchkarev.
Russia produces about 1/3 of the world's rough diamonds, therefore, ditching imports could significantly affect the income associated with diamond trade and diamond cutting industry.