The 11th Global Diamond Industry Report, jointly issued by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and consultancy agency Bain & Company, and quoted by Rough & Polished, analyzes rough diamond production in 2021 and future trends.
The report, titled “A brilliant recovery shapes up,” concludes that rough diamond production totaled 116 million carats in 2021 – a 5% increase year-on-year but still 20% below pre-Covid levels in 2019.
Growth in Production, Boom in Sales
The majority of growth in production, according to the report, “came from Botswana, Canada, Russia, and South Africa.” As for the world’s biggest miners, Alrosa increased its annual output by 2.5 million carats and De Beers increased its South African production.
As for rough diamond sales, these increased 62% in 2021 as “miners increased production volumes and pulled from inventories to satisfy strong demand from cutters and polishers.” Similarly, rough prices increased “as midstream companies rushed to restock to meet growing demand.”
According to the report, production is expected to hit 120+ million carats in 2022 “but is unlikely to reach pre-pandemic levels within the next five years.” The main short-term threat is new coronavirus strains “that might disrupt production and logistics again.” In addition, there have been no announcements of major new projects and investments in exploration are limited.
Therefore, the report forecasts production growth to stay at 1% to 2% per year during the next five years. There is also a silver lining as “promising demand growth and production scarcity support stability or further price growth for rough diamonds,” the report says.
