Alrosa inks agreement with GJEPC

Moscow--Alrosa has yet another global partner. The state-owned Russian diamond mining company signed an agreement last week with India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council to share trade and statistical data on the diamond trade.

The memorandum of understanding, signed Thursday in Moscow by GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah and Alrosa President Fyodor Andreev, is a step toward greater direct trade between the two countries, both of which are major players in the global diamond industry.

Alrosa produced 34.9 million carats of rough diamonds in 2012, and it is the world’s No. 1 producer in volume terms and second in value terms, with only De Beers topping it.

India, meanwhile, remains a major hub for the cutting and polishing of diamonds.

The country imported 163.11 million carats of rough diamonds worth $16.34 billion and exported 36.46 million carats of polished diamonds worth $20.23 billion in calendar year 2013.The amount of rough Alrosa sells to Indian companies has been growing for the past five years and totaled $700 million last year.

Under the MOU, Alrosa and the GJEPC agree to exchange information that would help to develop cooperation between the Russian and Indian diamond sectors, such as overviews of the diamond market situation, Indian and Russian trade figures, and information on Indian diamond market research.

The goal is to streamline overall trade procedures to allow for more direct imports of Alrosa’s diamonds into India and to increase Indian exports of polished diamonds to Russia, Alrosa and the GJEPC said.

“India has long sought long-term contracts between Alrosa and the Indian cutting and polishing industry,” Shah said at the signing. “Both trade bodies look forward to cooperating and exchanging information in the framework of implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and jointly seek to maintain separate sales of both natural and synthetic diamonds and diamond jewelry.  This is just the beginning.”

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India is the latest country with which Alrosa is working to forge a deeper partnership. Last month, executives with the Russian mining company signed an agreement with officials from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

Alrosa, which has its eye on becoming the world’s No. 1 producer in value terms, also has been increasing its presence in the United States and its mining ventures in the African nation of Angola.