Commodity Online
The Israeli diamond industry voiced urgent pleas for help from the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Employment, Benyamin Ben-Eliezer, who visited the Israeli Diamond Exchange on Tuesday.

A report from IDEX Online said the requests were for government backing of bank credit and help with employment programs. Another issue touches the sensitive subject of the Israeli banks conduct with the local diamond industry.

During a meeting with the heads of the Israeli diamond industry, Ben-Eliezer heard from Israel Diamond Institute and IsDMA President Moti Ganz, and Israel Diamond Exchange President Avi Paz, that the industry was deeply impacted by the world economic crisis, especially in the area of credit.

According to Ganz, since the onset of the crisis in October, the banks had cut credit to the industry from $2.4 billion to $1.6 billion.

Paz called on the Israeli government to act immediately and start operating an emergency plan that will help the industry survive the crisis.

The two presented an aid plan that includes help to different parts of the trade, including requests for state guaranteed loans, subsidies for diamond-industry professional training, leave without pay vacations, and funds to enable hiring new workers.

Traders that participated in the closed meeting voiced an unprecedented attack against local banks, accusing them of not allowing the industry to increase their credit limits.

Participants accused the local banks of cartelistic behavior, presenting the minister with a number of examples.In one example, the minister was told that several banks complained to another bank for not following though with the implementation of the same limits as the complaining banks had done.

Courtesy: IDEX Online

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