Diamond business leaders meeting at today’s Dubai Diamond Conference agreed to establish an industrywide fund to support category marketing for natural diamonds, sources tell JCK.
According to the proposal, rough diamond importers in major trading and cutting centers would be required to contribute a percentage of the value of each shipment—one number discussed was 0.05%—toward industry marketing efforts.
This surcharge would be collected by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the Israel Diamond Institute, or India’s Gem & Jewellery Promotion Council.
Even with this arrangement, the bulk of industry marketing efforts would continue to be funded by mining companies (like De Beers) and producing countries (such as Botswana), sources say. Russian diamond producer Alrosa is not expected to participate, given ongoing sanctions against Russian diamonds, they add.
Some who’ve conceived the proposed fund want major retailers and other downstream players to be able to contribute too.
Money from the surcharge would go to the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), with the hope of getting the group back to its past budget of $100 million a year. The NDC lost more than half of its funding when Alrosa dropped out, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With this new funding mechanism, various parts of the supply chain would have a greater voice in how the NDC is run, sources tell JCK.
They stress that many details need to be ironed out and nothing is definite, but there is a strong desire to establish the fund.
The Dubai conference—where industry financing and sustainability efforts were also discussed—was held at the Jafza One convention center. It will be followed by the Kimberley Process’ annual plenary, which begins tomorrow at the same venue.
(Photo courtesy of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre)
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