Global diamond biz seen shifting towards East .

Surat, April 16 With the West still reeling under the economic recession and power shifting to the emerging economies, the world diamond business and industry is also shifting towards the East, an expert said here.

By 2020, the US, China and India are expected to share almost 30 per cent of diamond and gems business each, a far cry from the Euro-American dominance with over 50 per cent of global business until recently.

“It may happen even sooner than that,” according to Mr Roger Lorie, CEO of International Gemological Institute (IGI) Worldwide, Antwerp.

Moreover, in countries such as India, the world's largest gold consumer with 90 per cent jewellery business being in gold until 2008, it is now around 50 per cent each for gold and diamond as prices of gold have zoomed, he said.

Between April 2009 and February, Surat, which has emerged as the global hub for the diamond industry, exported Rs 72,184 crore worth cut and polished diamonds and imported Rs 38,582 crore worth rough diamonds.

“Clearly, the recession did not have much impact on this industry as the domestic market saved this industry. There was no crisis as such in India. But the industry is now facing manpower shortage.”

Shifting sorting base

Nine out of 11 diamonds in India are cut and polished in Surat where nearly 4.50 lakh diamond cutters and polishers work in 4,500-odd factories, mostly small and medium-scale.

IGI is soon hiring 200 experts in India where diamond sorting work is also shifting from Mumbai to Surat. Some 60,000 sorters work in Mumbai and the shift is expected to create a large number of jobs in Surat in the next two to three years.

In fact, he said, Surat would be the first provider of high-cut diamonds to China, Hong Kong and most of the South-East Asian countries.

Mr Lorie said unlike China, which consumes more gems and diamonds than it manufactures and trades, India has excelled in all these three spheres.

It is due to this importance that IGI has as many as seven gemological certification centres in India alone, out of 15 globally, he said after inaugurating the latest in Surat. “However, we currently have no plans to shift the IGI headquarters from Antwerp.”

According to a Standard Chartered Bank estimate, India has a wedding industry worth $22 billion annually, which is seen as a major reason for the growth of jewellery business.

Mr Tehmasp Printer, Managing Director, IGI India, said the institute came to India in 1997.

It certifies diamond and gems on the basis of set criteria and most of Indian and global brands carry this certification.

Charging $62/carat for certification, it certifies 110 jewellery brands, for diamonds weighing between 0.0003 and 105 carats. So far, it has trained 9,000 industry professionals.

The Surat centre would be an international laboratory with a full-fledged diamond grading and education facility, he added.

Source : Business Line