STAFF WRITER
An increasing appetite in affordable lab-grown diamonds (synthetic diamonds) is putting pressure on original carat producers like Namibia and Botswana to strictly manage supply and remain market relevant, the Chamber of Mines has said.
In their latest mining sector report the Chamber of Mines Namibia painted a rather gloomy picture ahead for the Namibian diamond industry characterized by shrinking market space caused by the increased production of synthetic diamonds.
“Debmarine Namibia, along with remained relatively stable. In response to these structural market challenges, major rough diamond prices continue to decline, premium stones such as D/IF (flawless) have
diamonds, which have seen prices fall by approximately 74% since 2020.
While mid-tier weak global demand, particularly in China, and mounting competition from lab-grown
to have declined by 26% between 2022 and early 2025,” the chamber said.
They also added that, “This slump has been driven by affordable lab-grown alternatives, further eroding the market share of natural diamonds taken together, these factors highlight the increasing vulnerability of the natural diamond industry and the urgent need for producers to adapt to a rapidly evolving global market landscape.”
According to the Chamber, these trade barriers could also accelerate the consumer shift toward more and disrupt traditional trade flows, particularly for African producers.
“Tariffs Adding to these pressures, the potential imposition of tariffs on diamond imports in key value in the natural diamond sector in 2024 and early 2025 to curb oversupply, support price stability, and protect long-term other De Beers affiliated operations like Debswana, implementing production cuts in producers have adopted supply-side interventions,” the chamber said.
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