Russian mining giant Alrosa has announced its diamond sales results for July and the first seven months of 2019. In July, sales of rough and polished diamonds totaled $170.5 million – almost half compared to the July figures in 2018 ($339.1 million). Rough diamond sales in July 2019 totaled $164.6 million, while polished diamond sales totaled $5.9 million.
In January-July, the miner’s total rough and polished diamond sales amounted to $1.981 billion, including $1.948 billion of rough diamonds and $33.1 million of polished diamonds sales.
Evgeny Agureev, Director of the United Selling Organization ALROSA, commented on the results: “A significant decline in diamond sales was attributable to a number of factors including a sizable level of diamond inventory overhang in the midstream built-up last year on abnormally high demand growth. This factor was exacerbated by a low availability of credit facilities issue experienced by the mid-stream, trade tensions between USA and China, and other factors”.
Agureev added that his company’s “price over volume strategy offers more flexibility and accuracy when it comes to defining sales, hence holding back pressure on the market. Recent statistics on the net imports of rough diamonds to India and net export of polished diamonds from this country suggest that the diamond market is gradually coming back to supply-demand balance”.
