Diamond producing countries
Botswana continues to be the largest diamond producing country in terms of value and number two in terms of carats.
Australia ranks number four in the number of carats mined, but ranks ninth in terms of value mined.
South Africa remains one of De Beer's dominant areas. Mines owned by De Beers produce 97 % of the 15.2 million carats.
Although Botswana produces more than South Africa, the four operating mines are owned by Debswana, a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government.
The Russian State company Alrosa produced US $3.4 Billion worth of diamonds in 2005 and owns all of Russia's mines. This places Russia second in terms of value.
Canada is a recent entrant into the club of diamond producing nations and has redefined the organization, stepping almost immediately into the number 3 spot in terms of value. With the mines in Russia and the Argyle mine in Australia reaching their productive limits, many in the international diamond community are looking to Canada to keep the global supply steady.
Global Diamond Demand
In 1983, worldwide diamond Jewelry sales were $20 billion, today that figure is over $70 billion. Demand for diamonds globally continues to outpace the available supply. In the US, retail sales of diamond jewelry grew by 7 % in 2004 to $33.7 billion. That is an increase of $2.2 billion over 2004 sales, a sum equal to roughly 50 % of the countries annual engagement ring sales. This is the tenth consecutive year of growth in retail diamond sales. Fueled by strong sales in China, India and the Middle East, global diamond sales grew almost 10 % to $70 billion in 2005. In fact, Dubai's rough diamond trade increased 46 % in 2005 to $3.7 billion, according to the Dubai Diamodn Exchange.
In China, where rough diamond sales were $1.32 billion in 2005, experts predict the market will grow by at least 15-20 % per year. Jewelry sales are expected to rise by over 40 % in the next five years, with the most significant sales for diamond jewelry. China's gold, platinum and diamond jewelry sales reached $17.5 billion in 2005, a 15 % increase. Shanghai is expected to become a sizable trading center in the world's diamond processing and trading field in the next decade. By then, in Shanghai alone sales revenue of diamonds and jewelry will come to US $3 billion- $5 billion, and the number of people engaged in the industry will rise to 100,000.
Because of the growing demand for diamonds and the limited supply, experts and retailers claim that wholesale prices are already up by a third since 2003 and De Beers raised twice at their diamond tenders in 2005 for a total increase of 9.5 %.
