ARMENIA’S DIAMOND PRODUCTION SLICED IN HALF
IDEX Online, Israel
July 25 2007
Armenia’s diamond manufacturing industry polished $72 million worth of
diamonds in the first half of the year, a sharp 48 percent decline from
last year, the country’s Ministry of Trade and Economic Development
reported.
According to Gagik Mkrtchian, head of the jewelry department at the
ministry, Armenia’s diamond output in 2006 declined over 17 percent
to $268 million.
The continued shrinking of the country’s diamond manufacturing caused
it to lose its status as Armenia’s number one export item, and it
now accounts for just one percent of gross industrial production.
Perhaps reflecting Armenia’s diamond industry woes, Lev Leviev’s
Shoghakn, the country’s largest diamond-cutting plant, has cut a
large number of jobs, according to the Armenian press.
Mkrtchian pointed at a weak international market as an explanation.
60 percent of Armenia’s output is exported to the U.S.