South Africa looks to join international diamond marketing push

By Nqobile Dludla

South Africa’s cabinet has approved participation in an international effort to boost the marketing of real diamonds, responding to the increasing appeal of lab-grown gems and funded by a 1% levy on the annual revenues of diamond companies.

The natural diamond market has struggled in the past three years due to rising consumer demand for the cheaper synthetic gems, coupled with global macroeconomic volatility which has led to lower international prices.

In June, representatives from leading African producer nations, trade bodies and De Beers – part of Anglo American – signed an accord aimed at working together to promote natural diamonds and drive global demand.

The signatories intend to allocate 1% of the annual revenue they generate from rough diamond sales to fund this initiative, spearheaded by the Natural Diamond Council.

South Africa had not initially signed the accord, but Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Thursday announced