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Post By : IJ News Service On 30 May 2011 2:48 PM
The Indian Minister of State for Commerce, Mr. Jairam Ramesh is visiting Namibia and Angola beginning March 26th with a high-level delegation including members of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). This visit will be part of the first-ever India-Africa conclave being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. The conclave will focus on bettering systems to import roughs from Africa, a region which accounts for large global rough supplies. But parallel to this would be the initiative to promote partnerships between India and Africa to help Africa grow in the value-chain. %% Ramesh is urging the Indian diamond companies to cut the middleman in the supply chain and go directly to procure roughs from the supplying nations like Africa. His trip would involve visiting other important diamond producing countries like South Africa and Botswana. Ramesh says “The Africanisation of the diamonds processing industry is not a threat to India but a great opportunity which we must proactively embrace”, as India holds a huge potential for diamond cutting and polishing. India currently imports the maximum roughs in the world, in 2007-08 imports were around $ 10 billion. It is rated as the largest exporter of cut and polished diamonds, with about $ 14 billion being exported in 2007-08. Although India has begun diamond exploration in certain regions, it would be long before it can be sufficiently reliant on its rough sourcing. %% Apart from Africa countries, a producer like Alrosa of Russia has recently sold roughs directly to Indian buyers, although with small initial quantities. Pertaining to the new partnerships being looked at with Africa, Ramesh said that in future India will find it difficult to source rough diamonds unless it demonstrates to African nations that it will collaborate actively in helping them move up the value-chain and assist in value-addition in these producing countries itself. The emphasis is being laid on partnerships, not procurement.

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