De Beers cuts production of rough diamonds, bets $170 million on marketing

Market expected to remain under pressure in near future, says CFO

De Beers is cutting production of rough diamonds from 35 million carats last year to 31 million carats to reduce supply and is increasing spending on marketing from $110 million in 2014 to $170 million.  

The decision by one of the largest diamond companies in the world follows a few quarters of a slowdown and lower prices. But some inventories of polished diamonds with polishing units and major retailers will continue to be a pressure point for Indian units for some time.  

India is the world's largest supplier of polished diamonds. The polishing industry here still holds polished diamonds' inventory and until