Alrosa lifts March diamond sales 1% y/y

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The global leader in rough diamond production, Russia’s Alrosa, has increased total diamond sales for March by 1% year-on-year to $566.6-million, as stable demand in most rough diamond categories buoyed prices.

Rough diamond sales by Alrosa in March amounted to $554.2-million, with polished diamond sales for the same period totalling $12.4-million.

"In March, we continue to observe stable demand in almost all categories of rough diamonds, which is a confirmation of the optimism of market participants shown during the jewellery exhibition in Hong Kong," Alrosa VP Yury Okoyomov said in a statement on Monday.

Alrosa plans to increase diamond output to 39.2-million carats in 2017 from 37.4-million carats in 2016, with output expected to hit 40.4-million carats in 2021.