Russia wants to boost the competitiveness of Russian diamonds and for that end, it has asked Alrosa, the country’s top miner, to offer more favourable terms to Russian diamond cutters, including Kristall Production – the largest diamond cutter in Russia.
According to Mining Weekly, Russia wants Alrosa to “work more closely with the country’s top gem cutters so the industry can better compete in a market that’s dominated by Indian manufacturers”. In an interview with Bloomberg quoted in the piece, Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev said: “Cooperation currently is rather limited and it has to expand”. Currently, Russian diamond cutters, including Kristall Production, buy Alrosa’s rough at similar terms to overseas companies, “and are struggling to compete with much larger polishing centers like in India”.
According to Moiseev, the planned reform “may lead to Alrosa selling about 10% of its gems domestically”. It may also lead to Alrosa’s offering local cutter several benefits, such as buying some of the whole contracted volume or only choosing certain stones. The government also plans to “ease excessive controls for importing and exporting stones, as well introducing regulation identifying origins of diamonds to make the market more transparent”, such as special passports for gems. According to Moiseev, “Alrosa will need to spend more on marketing to support demand”, especially among millennials.
