Industry sources said all the four diamond bourses in Antwerp trading halls - Antwerp Diamond Bourse, Antwerpsche Diamantkring, Diamond Club of Antwerp and Vrije Diamnthandel - have been closed from Monday till further notice.
Image credit: Surat Diamond Association
Antwerp and Israel are two important diamond trading centres directly connected with Surat and Mumbai. Small and medium diamond units procure their rough diamond supplies from diamond traders in Antwerp. It is estimated that about 30% of rough diamonds out of total $19 bln imported into the country come from Antwerp.
Surat Diamond Association (SDA) president Babu Kathiriya said: “About 50% of polished diamonds cut and polished in Surat are passed from Antwerp to different parts of the world. As the trading activity has been shut in both Antwerp and Israel, we have convened an emergency meeting of industry stakeholders to decide on the future course of action. Majority of diamond units have reduced working hours from 12 hours to eight hours and many are keeping their units shut on weekends to control diamond production."
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
