Alrosa reported combined sales of rough and polished diamonds of $35.8 million for the month of July, compared with $31.3 million in June, $40.1 million in May, and $15.6 million in April this year.
The July sales consisted of rough diamond sales of $22.7 million, and polished diamond sales of $13.2 million.
For the first seven months of 2020, Alrosa’s total rough and polished diamond sales accounted for $1.027 billion, including $978 million of rough diamond sales and $49 million of polished.
Evgeny Agureev, Alrosa Deputy CEO commented, “Given the situation in the diamond value chain is challenging, specifically at the midstream, we kept supporting with the unprecedented measures our long-term clients, offering them an opportunity to refrain from buying contracted volumes of rough in July. Furthermore, we decided, as a measure of support amidst extremely challenging market conditions, to provide our clients with an additional flexibility.
“Nevertheless, we see the market’s interest in expensive goods, such as special size and large diamonds of high colour and quality characteristics. In July, we successfully auctioned +10.8-carat diamonds in Israel and Belgium. We also sold expensive rough on spot. As a result, the average realized price of gem-quality diamonds in July increased by 9x compared to this year’s average.
He noted that the company would continue doing everything needed to reach the market supply and demand balance as soon as possible.
“As for the terms of the August trading session and the possibility of offering our clients an option to defer purchases, the decision has not been taken yet,” Agureev added.
Caption: Alrosa’s rough and polished diamond sales in 2020.