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Antwerp and Diamond Cutting; A Developing Oxymoron?
With increasing competition from low-cost Asian countries like India and China, Antwerp is discovering that diamonds cutting business may not be forever.
After centuries of being the undisputed world leader in producing and marketing diamonds, the Belgian port city is facing a series of new challenges, including globalisation, which are threatening to take the shine off its traditional role. The Antwerp tradition of cutting and trading the most precious of gems began some 560 years ago. Now the industry, like other business, is shifting the bulk of manufacturing to low-wage countries like India and China.
In the 1970s, more than 25,000 diamond workers were still active around the medieval heart of Antwerp and in the nearby villages of the countryside. Today, there are less than 1,000 specialized polishers. Mr Philip Claes, director of corporate affairs at the High Diamond Council, the industry's governing body pointed out that labour costs in Asian Countries for polishing are about one-fifth lower than Antwerp, it was impossible to compete with that.
Today there is no denying that Indians are Antwerp's main diamond merchants. They handle two-thirds of the city's diamond trade, which last year recorded a total turnover of $39 billion, making up seven per cent of Belgian exports and employing 30,000 people.
Will Flemish become China's second language?
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