Industry News
New SA diamond working group established
04/03/2009
By Leandi Cameron
The Diamond Council of South Africa and the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa is putting together a strategic working group to ensure that the country’s diamond industry stays strong in the current economic crisis.
Chairperson of both these entities, Ernest Blom, tells Mining Weekly Online that the working group is pulling together stakeholders from all corners of the industry to assist in strategic future planning.
“We have just started with strategic planning for what we hope to achieve, and will have some information towards the end of March.
"We are being proactive and do not want the same unfavourable fate for the diamond industry, which other industries have walked in the current economic climate,” he adds.
Newswire Reuters recently reported that global demand for rough diamonds would drop by 60% as the global recession has caused a weaker demand for luxury goods. The demand for polished diamonds was expected to fall by 33%. Diamond sales already dropped by $20-billion in 2008.
Tacy Consultant's principal Chaim Even-Zohar was quoted as saying that the diamond industry had to be restructured and consolidated, as the financial crisis and was not the only reason for the sector’s woes.
"We have a structural problem in the diamond business that needs to be solved - we need to clean up, we need the consolidate and we are doing it now - the crisis is a blessing in disguise," he said.
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