Following the results of the first two online auctions in 2013, De Beers sold 98% of the offered goods in value terms, noting a significant improvement in the situation on the rough diamond market. The company refused to disclose data on the proportion of products sold by the number of lots, Rapaport reported.
"Demand in 2013 significantly improved compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, with many categories of goods attracted such a level of interest of buyers who have not been a year or more," - said Rapaport News by e-mail Neil Ventura (Neil Ventura), senior Vice President of De Beers on auction sales.
Ventura explained that the trend of increasing demand covers all regions, consumer segments and product categories. He noted that demand from Indian buyers increased sharply in the second series of auction sales, which ended recently, while demand from buyers from the Asia-Pacific region, Belgium and Israel also increased. The participation of buyers from Israel has reached the highest level in the last two years, he added.
Participants in auctions that are not sightholders purchased about 70% of the products sold at auctions since the beginning of the year.
De Beers auction sales fell 12% in 2012 to $ 356 million. De Beers' strategy involves selling up to 10% of its products at auctions.