Photo by: BLOOMBERG
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The presidents of World Federation of Diamond Bourses- (WFDB-) affiliated exchanges worldwide are making preparations ahead of the 2015 Presidents Meeting, which the federation believes will be one of the most important assemblies of its kind ever held, in light of the issues facing the global diamond trade.
The bi-annual meeting, which would take place in Tel Aviv, Israel, from June 14 to 16, would see the gathering of the presidents of the organisation's 30 member bourses and would tackle the shortage of industry financing and declining profitability – “undoubtedly” the most pressing issues in the diamond industry, asserted WFDB president Ernie Blom.
“Rarely have we had to deal with so many challenges and so it is critical that all the bourse presidents attend to present their particular perspective and to hear the input from their colleagues across the globe.
“At the WFDB, we are focused on the problems that our members are facing and gatherings such as the June meeting present us with an ideal opportunity to discuss what moves we can take to try to resolve them satisfactorily. We must come together to ensure that industry stakeholders are fully aware of the need to help us find solutions and discuss ways forward,” he said in a statement.
He added that the number and scale of undisclosed synthetic diamonds entering the global market was also of concern.
“How large is this problem and is identification of such stones successful?,” he enquired.
Blom added that the WFDB remained “fully committed” to promoting that the World Diamond Mark (WDM) – an initiative launched in 2012 to promote consumer desire for, and confidence in, diamonds.