Waldman Diamond Company

Waldman: Israel's diamond exports are slowing as expected, but not beyond the predicted 15 percent mark.
March 2001

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL - Israel's polished diamond exports slowed significantly during the first three months of 2001, as had been forecast by many Israeli polished diamond exporters.

Net polished exports from Israel in March stood at $391.7 million, down 17.4 percent from the $478.8 million reported in March 2000. The fall was even more pronounced in carat-weight, with a 27 percent fall reported—from 460,580 carats down to 336,512 carats.

But the volume of the gross polished exports in March remained very high. In carats 506.353 carats were exported, worth an impressive $629.1 million. Nonetheless, these figures were set off by the high percentage of goods that were returned to Israel during the month—33.5 percent in weight and 37.1 percent in value.

Net polished diamonds exports during the first quarter of the year equaled $1.25 billion, 15.4 percent below the figure reported during the same period a year earlier. Israel exported 19.3 percent less in terms of weight.

"Industry commentators had predicted that the industry's performance would lead to a 15 percent or so drop in the value of polished exports," noted Alexander Waldman, the CEO of the WDC (Waldman Diamond Company) Group, from the corporation's headquarters in the Ramat Gan diamond complex.

Waldman noted that the market was not behaving erratically, but rather was biding its time as it awaited further economic developments on the local and international fronts.

"With the United States still wondering if it is in a recession or not, our buyers are not rushing to re-stock diamond inventories, " he said, "And with the Asian markets still slow, and Europe remaining careful, the phenomenon of a market-in-waiting is now global."

In March, net imports of rough diamonds rose 22 percent in volume to 1,98 million carats, when compared to the corresponding month in 2000, but in value dropped 30 percent to $286.8 million for the month.

In the January-March period, 50 percent more carats of diamonds were imported, weighing 5.89 million carats, at a value of $945.9 million, which was almost 17 percent less in value than in the same period of the previous year. Practically speaking, it would seem that manufacturers are buying cheaper rough, and aiming at producing cheaper goods.

"It al is part of the market-in-waiting phenomenon," Waldman noted. "I'm convinced that during the second half of the year, we will witness a reverse process and the market will return to producing the full range of goods."