Alrosa’s rough and polished diamond sales saw a massive uptick in May this year, on the back of healthy demand from diamond cutters and polishers as well as end-consumers.

The Russian miner reported that combined sales had reached US$365 million, with rough diamonds accounting for US$346 million and polished sales amounting to US$19 million.

The figure – a hefty improvement from US$40.1 million at the height of the Covid-19 crisis in May last year – also exceeded pre-coronavirus sales of US$266 million in May 2019.

“Our May sales results demonstrate strong demand coming from the Indian midstream,” revealed Evgeny Agureev, deputy CEO of Alrosa. “Despite the epidemiological situation in April and early May, which has substantially improved since then, cutters and polishers have fully adapted and are able to process all available volumes of rough diamonds.”

Demand for diamond jewellery is likewise robust in all key regions, noted Agureev, adding that for the first four months of the year, jewellery sales surpassed 2019 figures by 30 per cent in the US and by 10 per cent in China.