18-5-2020
Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) president Yoram Dvash said the country’s diamond sector, which accounted for about 9 percent of exported goods in 2019, has lost US$300 million revenue due to the coronavirus.
Diamond trade of Israel declined 90 percent yoy. The estimated transactions in March and April worth US$1.5 billion vanished into thin air. Dvash said there is no money coming in from anywhere. The factories in India, in Israel, in Belgium are not working, so there are not many goods in the market. Industry leaders asked for government guarantees. Silver lining is the trading floor at the IDE will finally re-open on 24 May, after a two-month closedown.
Dvash said he hopes prices for 1-carat diamonds which was down eight precent this year, will bounce back when demand returns.
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