Israel’s renowned diamond industry has come to a halt: As the trade floor of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) has fallen silent, impacted by government measures to battle coronavirus and the reduced trade in other diamond hubs in the world, IDE President Yoram Dvash is calling for the government, the banks, and global rough suppliers to exercise flexibility. Dvash spoke at length in an article on the Jerusalem Post.
“The exchange is a ghost town,” Dvash told the paper, adding: “Traditional trade has dropped off and shifted to conferences in recent years, but the large conferences have been cancelled due to the virus. There has also been a shift to online trading, but there is currently no appetite to buy”.
Dvash called on the government “to offer specific tools to some 1,500 businesses of various sizes within the exchange, emphasizing that it is imperative for Israel to maintain its competitive advantage in the global industry”. The IDE has also joined the World Diamond Council and others in a plea to global rough suppliers – De Beers and Alrosa – for “complete flexibility” for purchases of rough diamonds under existing cash before delivery contracts.
Dvash also spoke about the banks as a key player in “overcoming this crisis”, saying: “If they will take a flexible approach that understands the problems of the small businesses, we will be able to emerge better from the crisis”.
