Following a request by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India, Russian diamond mining company ALROSA has announced its decision to suspend diamond allocations for September and October this year.
This decision was made after a meeting of leading Indian diamantaires to tackle the current hurdles confronting the global diamond industry, GJEPC reported. It comes amid concerns about the diminishing demand for diamonds in international markets, leading to disruptions in factory operations and a reduction in resource allocation.
According to ALROSA's letter cited by the Council, the miner believes that this decision will help prevent overstocking, especially as the industry approaches the Diwali season when many manufacturers traditionally shut down.
Earlier this month, Vipul Shah, Chairman, GJEPC had reached out to global mining companies, expressing the Indian diamond industry’s concerns on several key issues affecting the diamond trade, such as declining demand pressures, impact of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs), polished inventory and production challenges, economic downturns in USA and China, geopolitical instability, changing consumer preferences and eroding confidence in natural diamonds.
Shah said, “We believe that exploring mechanisms to manage the supply and prices of natural diamonds through collaboration among miners can be instrumental in bringing balance to the market. We kindly request your support in temporarily adjusting the supply of rough diamonds to better align with the current demand, which will help stabilise the industry and foster its sustainable growth.”
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
