Alrosa to be flexibile with dates for its rough diamond trading sessions

KOLKATA: Russian diamond miner ALROSA has decided to be flexible with dates for its rough diamond trading sessions in July and August to help Indian industry that cuts and polishes nearly 85% of the rough diamonds that are mined globally.
“July trading session which was initially scheduled for July 12-17, will now take place from July 27 to July 31. This decision will support the company’s clients that expressed the potential interest in purchasing rough in this period,” Jim Vimadalal, director, India representative office of ALROSA told ET.

To make diamond supply more steady, ALROSA is moving its next trading session from August 10-14 to the second half of that month. "The dates will be announced later," Vimadalal said.

To balance rough supply with demand more effectively, the company will halt production of industrial diamonds of certain sizes for the next six months.

"As a response to the situation in a global diamond industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions, ALROSA is implementing a number of measures to cut costs in 2020 that would lead to the annual diamond production of 28-31 million carats in comparison to initial guidance of 34 million carats," Vimadalal added.

"At the last three trading sessions, we provided our customers with unprecedented flexibility, including an opportunity to defer contracted volumes to later periods of the year. Today, when the largest end-consumer markets show signs of recovery, we answer our clients’ requests and amend our initial trading schedule that was formed last year,” he said.