In a recent article titled “Global Diamond Production +12% in 2021 – But Really Declining” on Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, diamond analyst Edahn Golan examines global diamond production trends and some of the issues they expose.
Golan explains that although global diamond production increased 11.9% to 120 million carats in 2021 compared to 2020 levels, it fell short compared to 2019, and “was one of the lowest production levels in more than a decade.”
The 12% increase reflects a recovery from an unusual 2020, when many mines were closed due to COVID, but compared to 2019, diamond production was 13% behind. This, Golan claims, “is part of a longer trend of diamond production slowly trending down.”
In the meantime, the total declared value of production “was relatively high, as prices of rough diamonds soared last year.” The average value of global diamond production reached a record high of $116.53 per carat. Value of diamond production totaled $13.99 billion – an increase of 51% year over year and 3.1% compared to 2019.
However, Golan says, “a long-term trend analysis shows that the total value of global diamond production is possibly tapering off,” the main reason being the decrease in production volume.
Golan then examines the top diamond producing countries – Russia, Botswana, Canada, DRC and South Africa – and analyzes their performance by volume and value.
He then moves on to analyze some issues that these figures expose, including the perplexing differences between figures of production and exports.
He concludes by saying that “the repeated (and often delayed) forecast that production will fall and consumer demand will rise is starting to materialize,” then analyses the potential impact this may have on rough prices.
Read the full article here
