What market share does DeBeers currently hold?

[larry]

I was wondering if anyone knew how much of the diamond market DeBeers currently holds. From what I have read DeBeers is slowly losing their cartel status, is this true? What will this mean for future diamond prices? Have diamond prices already leveled out or is there going to be a reduction in price in the future?

 

[Caratz]

Looks like it's somewhere between 80-90%. Here is an interesting link:

http://college.hmco.com/economics/taylor/complete/student/exercise/taylor/a10_1.htm

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

They are at about 60% and falling as Russia with 26% increas3es the amount they hold for cutting, and as riotinto and Bop-Billiton find and open more mines

 

[DoogieDog]

Pretty big difference between 60% and 90%. Are either of these authoritative answers here, or just guesses?

Larry, how do you feel about the answers you got? I don't know how to interpret them...

DD

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

My numbers are within 5%.
Most Russian diamonds are being marketed by De Beers and are part of the 60%.

 

[Smokevis]

Is this market share data available? Where can one find such data? Is this based on sales or production?

 

[golfer]

1 company does not a cartel make. That's a nitpicking definition issue. More important point: arguably, even if they went way down in market share, the cartel (and hence high diamond prices) would survive. There is no incentive for the other cartel members (e.g., Russians) to cheat. Cartel theory teaches us that cartel members will eventually cheat in order to maximize profits (sell at a lower price to sell more) but, so far as I can tell (and I don't really understand how diamonds are mined, etc.), there may be no real way for Russia or whoever to ramp up production more than it has already. It's not like taking common raw materials and turning them into something else -- i.e., there's not a way to easily make more just because the price goes up. So Russia's best option is, probably, to not disrupt the cartel. Let deBeers set the prices and offer its diamonds at an equal price.

Something could change that, but that's the way I see it.

Golfer
(antitrust lawyer and pseudo-economist)

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Actually Golfer the pricing factors are probably more under the influence (a better word than control in this case) of Martin Rapaport who monitors and publishes polished price lists that many long term sale contracts are based upon.

People complain to him that the rough often costs more than the polished, Martin jokes that someone should invent a machine to cut polished back into rough