DIL strikes a deal to directly procure diamonds from Namibia

Diamond India (DIL) recently struck a deal with a miner in Namibia, to directly source diamonds, establishing the first ever such deal in India. DIL is the Indian consortium made up of 60 large and medium sized diamond exporters of the country, who would previously buy diamonds from Antwerp; Antwerp would source the diamonds from Russia, Africa and Canada

The direct deal with the Namibian miner will decrease cost by about 5 to 7 percent, freight charges and eliminate traders’ commissions. This comes as a boon to the local diamond exporters who operate on margins of 3 percent and have been bearing a 20 to 25 percent increase in rough diamond prices since November 2008. Media reports say that DIL has been the only other company apart from Diamond Trading Company, to directly obtain roughs from Namibia or an African miner. DIL has in the past also sourced roughs from Alrosa in Russia.