Russian diamond ban creates costly delays, Antwerp diamond dealers say

Antwerp’s diamond dealers face long and costly delays following an EU ban on Russian-origin diamonds that took effect on March 1 and has slowed imports, they say in a letter seen by Reuters.

The letter, dated March 13, said the disruptions would erode the competitive advantage of the centuries-old Antwerp diamond trade. It was addressed to Belgium’s main diamond industry group, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), and requested a review of the new procedures.

Any impact is likely to be reduced by sluggish market conditions. Diamond inventories are high and prices have fallen. Paul Zimnisky, a global diamond analyst, said last month that prices were down 25% from their early 2022 peak.

Al Cook, CEO of mining company Anglo American’s De Beers’ diamond business, has said the miner would reduce production this year in response to surplus supply.

“While we fully support the decisions taken by Belgium, the European Union, and the G7 nations, in regards to the sanctions of January 1st 2024, the implementation of the measures to enforce the sanction has adversely affected all of our operations,” said the letter, signed by over 100 local firms.

“The intention was to prevent the flow of diamonds from sanctioned states, but the reality we face is the severe disruption of our supply chains, and alienation from the rest of the global trade.”

A Belgian government official said the delays were temporary and were easing.

The EU and Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed to ban direct imports of Russian diamonds to their markets as of Jan. 1 and before phasing in a full ban on Russian-origin stones via third countries from March 1 because of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Russia’s state-run Alrosa, which together with De Beers is one of the world’s top diamond producers, was also placed under sanctions by the EU.

Diamond hub
Antwerp remains the world’s biggest diamond hub though 90% of stones are polished in India. Belgium pushed hard for the G7 to adopt a version of its proposed plan to try to prevent Antwerp from losing more business after major Western jewellers began eschewing Russian stones.

Diamond dealers said their shipments have been held up for over a week at customs even if the gems were straight from African producers.

The Belgian government official said shipments pending would be processed within 24 hours.

“The indirect ban coincided with the Hong Kong Diamond Fair which is an annual peak period… This, in combination with the expected teething problems caused some initial delay in processing of shipments during the first days,” he said.

Diamond dealers say they expect more problems when the additional tracing requirements take effect from September.

“We see the procedures will cause Antwerp to further lose competitive advantage… rather than deal a meaningful blow to any sanctioned products,” the letter said.

“The current trajectory threatens the existence of Antwerp’s diamond industry, a heritage of six centuries.”

The head of the AWDC, Ari Epstein, said the group would soon present the new measures, adding it was “acutely aware of the challenges and disruptions this timing may have caused”.

“Let me be unequivocally clear: the violation of sanctions is criminal in nature and not taken lightly by governments or our organization. Our commitment to compliance… is unwavering and absolute,” Epstein said in a statement.

Source: DCLA

Fresh sanctions on Russian diamonds put 1 million jobs at risk

G7 countries are imposing fresh sanctions against Russia to try to further hinder its war effort in Ukraine. “If the sanctions continue, then there will be a lot of uncertainty in the employment of one million workers,” said Vipul Shah, chairman of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Source: DCLA

Western Attempts to Hinder Russian Diamond Exports Contradict Industry Interests: Moscow

Russian Diamond

Western countries’ attempts to interfere with Russian diamond exports may lead to disruption of supply chains, which runs counter to the interests of the industry as a whole, Dmitry Birichevsky, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s economic cooperation department, told Sputnik.

“It is clear that the restrictive measures that are being developed, whatever they may be, risk disrupting established supply chains and thus inimical to the interests of the diamond industry as a whole. In this regard, Westerners are trying to provide a plausible pretext for their irresponsible actions, including on various international platforms,” Birichevsky said.

Russia is one of the largest diamond industry players, accounting for 30% of world production, the official noted.

“At the same time, Russian manufacturers are exceptionally responsible market participants, whose activities not only meet, but often exceed international standards and are in many ways a model for others,” Birichevsky said.

He noted that opponents should be aware that any attempts to prevent Russian diamond exports are non-market oriented.

“For our part, we consistently counter attempts to deliberately distort the foundations and principles of the relevant multilateral formats that determine the functioning of the global diamond market. It is encouraging that a vast majority of industry representatives share our approaches,” Birichevsky added.

Earlier this month, top US and European Commission officials met with diamond industry leaders to discuss ways to cut-off billions in revenue to Russia.

In February, the Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed to further sanction the Russian diamond industry in an attempt to slash Russian revenues amid Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine. The G7 said in a joint statement that they would engage key partners on further measures on Russian diamonds, including rough and polished ones.

On Saturday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he expected the European Union’s 11th package of sanctions to target Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Russian diamonds.

Source: DCLA

G-7 and EU looking at ways to track and trace Russian diamonds

Russian diamonds

Group of Seven nations and the European Union are discussing ways to track Russian diamonds across borders, a move that could pave the way for restrictions on their trade in future, according to people familiar with the matter.

Previous EU attempts to sanction Russian gems have run into resistance from importer nations such as Belgium who argue that the effort would be futile because transactions will simply shift elsewhere without a mechanism to trace precious stones.

A diamond’s origin is clear at the start of the supply chain when it is issued a certificate under the Kimberley Process, which was designed to end the sale of so-called blood diamonds that financed wars. But after that they can become difficult to track.

Cut and polished stones are often intermingled at trading houses and the original certificate will be replaced with “mixed origin” documentation, making it near-impossible to keep track of where Russian diamonds are eventually sold.

The US has sanctioned the Russian mining giant, Alrosa PJSC, which accounts for about a third of the $80 billion global trade in rough diamonds. But the measures have had limited impact as much of the trade flows through other markets such as India.

The people with knowledge of the G-7 and EU discussions said a solution is not imminent, because tracing polished diamonds in a global market is extremely complicated. Still, two of the people said the G-7 could issue a statement on the matter as early as next week as part of the effort to maintain pressure on Russia as its war in Ukraine approaches the one-year mark.

Source: Mining.com