RAPAPORT. The largest rough-trading centers face a busy January as adaptations have enabled them to continue holding sales events during the pandemic.
Antwerp and Dubai will host 14 rough tenders between them this month, after 2020 proved relatively strong despite the coronavirus outbreak. Technology has allowed sellers to offer goods remotely. At the same time, rough prices at tenders were lower than those at large miners’ contract sales for much of last year, attracting buyers that were looking to meet specific demand.
“Antwerp’s diamond office [the customs center] remained operational [during Covid-19], and there was constant consultation with shipping companies and airlines to ensure goods could continue to be shipped,” a spokesperson for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said Monday. “We have an unrivalled critical mass of buyers and sellers that enable true market value for rough productions.”