The Sixth International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI) opened yesterday (February 13) to a packed trading hall at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), with the participation of some 400 buyers from 30 countries, and over 200 diamond companies exhibiting from Israel and abroad.
Alrosa President Andrey Zharkov, a guest of honor at IDWI, held a talk later in the day before leading Israeli diamond companies, a meeting attended by IDE President Yoram Dvash and Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association President Kobi Korn.
Dvash spoke about Alrosa’s status as the main rough diamond supplier in the market, and the joint interest of Alrosa and the IDE to strengthen ties for the benefit of the Israeli diamond industry.
IDE Managing Director Eli Avidar spoke about Zharkov’s vast experience in the mining and diamond industries and invited him to speak.
“It is a great honor for me to participate in the IDWI. Like I said earlier today, Israel is like a home for me”, Zharkov said, “Alrosa is interested in supporting different major diamond hubs in the world such as the Israeli diamond bourse, and this is the reason for our presence here today”.
“Alrosa’s offices in Israel are being re-branded, and we changed its name from Marcus to Alrosa Israel. I want to thank IDE President Dvash, whom I have an excellent relationship with, for the opportunity to discuss some issues with our friends here”.
Zharkov cited the importance of the 2015 MOU between Alrosa and IDE to share information and cooperate on issues of mutual interest. He also spoke of Alrosa’s various interests in the global diamond market, such as better differentiation between natural and synthetic diamonds, heightened transparency, and the main markets Alrosa caters to. “Israel is one of Alrosa’s three main markets as a major buyer of high quality, large diamonds”, he said, “and we are committed to strengthening this cooperation. We will hold tenders of rough and polished that will reflect your needs and the excellent manufacturing conditions at place in Israel”.
Zharkov went on to speak about the various challenges faced by Alrosa and the diamond industry – supply and demand gaps for luxury products, drop in rough prices versus other Alrosa assets like oil and minerals, as well as some encouraging signs in the industry, including the 3%-5% rise in the industry in recent years and Alrosa’s increased production: “We believe demand for rough diamonds will be stable in 2017, and we don’t see any reason for rough prices to either rise or fall. Alrosa plans to sell 39 million carats this year. However, the increased demand cannot be taken for granted and the future is still uncertain”.
Speaking about the prices of polished diamonds, Zharkov said that “one of the reasons for the softening of polished diamonds is the demonetization by the Indian government, which aims to attract new investors to the country. We’re dependent on the Indian market, and I believe that there will be more reforms and that India’s transparency will improve”. Alrosa’s main challenge, he said, is preserving long-term demand for rough and polished: “This is why we established the DPA”, he said, “our future is in the hands of the millennials, and how they perceive diamonds”.
As for synthetic diamonds, Zharkov estimated that the synthetic market totals 1%-2% of the overall diamond market, and spoke about the need for greater transparency as well as new devices for detecting synthetics. He spoke of the upcoming changes in GIA certificates, which will include, among others, the history of the diamond.
Zharkov concluded by saying: “Alrosa’s commitment to the development of the diamond market allows us to feel secure about our cooperation with the Israeli market”. He then went on to answer questions from the audience.
