ALROSA, in an official statement released to news agency Reuters, is reported to have said that the Christmas retail season showed “signs of revival of demand in the main market and a decrease in mid-stream stocks”. The company further clarified that sale of diamonds to Gokhran as proposed by minority shareholder, the Yakutia region, would only be undertaken if the market situation deteriorates significantly.

The company also reiterated that it remains profitable and fully able to meet its social obligations, the Reuters report added.

The statement to Reuters was a clarification regarding earlier news reports put out by Interfax which quoted Aysen Nikolaev, the head of Yakutia region and a director of ALROSA as having proposed that Gokhran, the state precious metals and gem repository, should be asked to purchase between $ 500 million to $ 1 billion worth of rough from the company this year.

Nikolaev reportedly presented the proposal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the finance ministry. He cited an earlier precedent when ALROSA sold its rough to Gokhran following the market crisis of 2008-09.

The reports also quoted Nikolaev as saying that the Yakutia region, ALROSA’s management and the finance ministry have agreed to review the proposal based on sales at the end of the first half of the year.