As a struggling, licensed diamond manufacturer supporting implementation of the Diamonds Amendment Bill, I have to respond to new diamond-cutting laws turn back the clock (September 28).

The South African diamond-cutting industry employs about 2000 diamond cutters. Non-producing countries such as Israel, Belgium, the US, India and China have more than 1 million cutters combined. SA is one of the biggest contributors to De Beers rough diamond production, but we only cut 50% of its production.

De Beers refers to its commitment to supplying the local industry in terms of “by value”, and not “by volume”.

Here’s why: De Beers produced about 14 million carats of rough diamonds in South Africa last year. The declared value of those goods was about $1 billion. That equates to an average cost of $76 a carat.

As a manufacturer who is supplied by De Beers, I pay an average of $1500 a carat for rough diamonds. At the price, De Beers only needs to sell 350000 (about 2,5%) of its carats to SA s manufacturers to match their figure of 50% “by value”.

There are only 2000 cutters in SA as the majority of local rough is exported and cut elsewhere.

Government is clamping down on the industry because players have abused the system — section 59 of the Diamond Act, in particular — to export huge quantities of rough diamonds, exempt of all duties.

If manufacturers are supplied according to their requirements, there will be no need to sell or export their rough diamonds.

Rough diamonds that are not required by the local manufacturers can be exported by producers within the parameters of the Diamonds Amendment Bill.

Local manufacturers have disappeared from SA as a result of unfair business practices.

The bill aims to rectify the past and to allow South Africans an opportunity to beneficiate rough diamonds.