Diamond giant De Beers raised prices for small diamonds by about 7%, and for large diamonds - an average of 5% at the first site in 2014, launched January 20 in the capital of Botswana Gaborone, which caused indignation of Indian diamantaires, while small diamond companies are eager to pay their debts before the tax inspection comes to them, the MineWeb portal reports.
State banks and lenders, including the Punjab National Bank and the Central Bank of India, sent official notices to Winsome Diamonds, whose headquarters are in Mumbai, as well as its affiliated company Forever Precious Jewelery, demanding repayment of loans, the amount of which exceeds $ 646 million (40 billion rupees).
"Winsome Diamonds, which specializes in precious stones and jewelry, which was already at the center of the scandal after the delay in payment of loans, received a notice from the banks. Previously, this company was known as Su-raj Diamonds. Banks insist on the return of funds, and so many small trading companies went awry, "said Mohit Arora, a diamantairter who owns an export firm that was present on the De Beers website.
During the site, the largest diamond-mining company noted the growth in demand from China, the United States, and a slight increase - from India. The US is the largest consumer of diamonds, on the second and third place China and India, respectively.
"By raising the price of all categories of diamonds by an average of 5%, De Beers aroused fears of Indian sightholders about the next site, as the diamond giant said it will continue to raise prices until March 2014," Arora said, adding that the site was there are many concerns about the demand from Indian consumers.
Mentioning that the increase in De Beers prices will negatively affect the profitability of small and medium diamantaires and force them to give preference to cheaper synthetic diamonds, Arora also hinted at the growing threat of the spread of synthetic diamonds.
Another sightholder added that business in the center of diamond cutting in Surat recently started to be adjusted due to good sales revenue during the Christmas season, however many owners of small companies still can not afford to buy expensive raw materials.
"The Winsome notification received scared small companies that tend to buy synthetic diamonds, and then mix them in a batch of natural stones," the sightholder said.