India’s stature in global diamond trade is likely to go up as Dubai, which was fast emerging as an alternative to Antwerp, the world’s diamond trading hub, has received a setback following the debt crisis there, industry officials said today.
“Until now, Dubai was fast growing as an alternative to Antwerp. Seeing its growth, there were possibilities that Dubai might overtake Antwerp in the future. However, the debt crisis might have impacted its diamond trade directly or indirectly, which might hamper its growth,” Rohit Mehta, President, Surat Diamond Association, said.
He said that if Dubai’s diamond trade slows down as a consequence of the crisis, it would boost India’s chances of emerging as a serious challenger to Antwerp, considering that the country is already a major player in global diamond processing.
Surat is India’s diamond processing hub, contributing over 80 per cent of the country’s diamond processing industry’s annual revenue of around Rs 60,000 crore.
In recent years, Dubai, being a port location, had developed into a diamond distribution centre in West Asia. According to industry estimates, 10-15 per cent of India’s total polished diamond exports go through Dubai.
“Dubai debt crisis mostly concerns realty players. However, there are chances that Dubai’s local diamond firms might have also some direct or indirect exposure to this crisis,” said Pravin Nanavaty, general secretary, Gujarat Hira Bourse, a diamond manufacturers’ and exporters’ body based in Surat.
He said that if Dubai Diamond Exchange takes a hit due to this crisis it will help the Gujarat Hira Bourse in a major way as trade may be diverted from Dubai to India.
GHB is a Special Economic Zone located in Surat having 250 diamond trading and processing members and around processing 155 units. Dubai Diamond Exchange, a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, has offices of over 300 regional and international precious gems companies engaged in grading, shipping, trading and networking.
No domestic impact
Most industry officials said that although many Indian gems processors have trade relations with Dubai, its internal debt crisis is unlikely to have any negative impact on their businesses either directly or indirectly.
