Alrosa Could Keep More Large Stones in Russia

RAPAPORT… Alrosa may increase its supply of large rough diamonds to
Russian cutters, under a government program to boost the domestic manufacturing industry,
the miner said.



At present, 2% of Alrosa’s total production consists of
diamonds weighing 2 carats or more, with the company selling 40% of these goods
to the Russian market.


The category is the most desirable for Russian polishers, an
Alrosa spokesperson explained. To this end, the government is currently
preparing a “road map” for developing the nation’s cutting-and-polishing sector
that might see Alrosa hike the domestic share of these larger stones to 50%,
the company said.


The government also wants Alrosa to offer more
favorable terms to Russian cutters such as Kristall Production Corporation,
Bloomberg last week cited Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev as saying.


“We hope [the road map] will be adopted [by] the end of this
year, because our new three-year contract period with long-term clients begins
in 2018, and we need to know if we’re revising our sales policy or not,” the Alrosa spokesperson told Rapaport News.


The Russian Federation owns 44% of the rough producer, with
the Republic of Yakutia holding an additional 25%, and other regional
authorities owning 8%.

Image: An Alrosa cutting workshop, 2002