Sales of the world’s largest diamond miner by volume, Alrosa, came to a near halt in April, with the company only selling $15.6-million in rough and polished diamonds in the month.
This compares with sales of $152.8-million in March and $405-million in January this year.
The Russian company virtually stopped selling diamonds as governments across the globe were taking active steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, while Alrosa maintained its price-over-volume strategy.
“Restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus and a decline in the demand for diamond jewellery have minimised the trade in rough and polished diamonds across the world. In response to the situation, we have offered to our clients an option to buy the amounts of rough diamonds scheduled for April on a later date. Our customers have welcomed this opportunity,” said deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev.
He added, however, that the challenges were temporary in nature and that the group expected an upward trend in demand for diamonds as early as the beginning of the third quarter.
Alrosa’s total rough and polished diamond sales in January to April 2020 amounted to $919.8-million. From January to April, the worth of rough diamond sold amounted to $894.4-million and polished diamonds $25.4-million.