Lev Leviev has lost his number one place in the ranks of Israel's diamond exporters in the 2011 rankings published by Diamond Supervisor Shmuel Mordechai today. Leo Schachter, the owner of Leo Schachter Diamonds Ltd., which exported $403 million worth of diamonds in 2011, took the top ranking.
Leviev requested not to have his diamond operations, Lev Leviev Diamonds LLC(LLD), disclosed, thereby losing his ranking after many years.
The Diamond Supervisor at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor reported that net polished diamond exports by Israel's top 25 companies totaled $2.44 billion in 2011, a third of total net polished diamond exports of $7.2 billion.
Mordechai said, "2011 diamond exports were 23.5% greater than in 2010. Rough diamond exports rose by 14.9% to $3.5 billion. This growth was in line with growth in the global diamond industry, which grew until the fourth quarter of 2011. Regrettably, this growth will probably not continue in 2012, and we expect a reduction in activity by the global diamond industry."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 22, 2012
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