Russian miner Alrosa reported a 47 per cent year-on-year slump in sales to 10.1 million carats during the first half of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on global businesses. 

Diamond production was down 22 per cent to 13.7 million carats during the first six months of the year while output in the second quarter dropped by 42 per cent to 5.7 million carats. 

Rough and polished diamond sales in Q2 reached US$87 million, reflecting a year-on-year decline of 89 per cent. In value terms, sales in the first half came up to US$991 million.

Diamond inventories at the end of Q2 were 25 per cent higher quarter-on-quarter to 26.3 million carats.

“In Q2, Alrosa implemented measures to optimise production by reducing the plan for 2020 to 28 to 31 million carats and to balance supply and demand through a flexible sales strategy – selling diamonds only if there is real demand and allowing customers to defer contract volumes to subsequent periods,” the miner said.

According to Alrosa, diamond production was suspended due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns between March and May while several mines remain closed as the market awaits recovery. Global diamond exchanges resumed activities around June with strict health and safety measures in place. 

Alrosa also cited slight signs of recovery in the retail markets of China and the US. 

“China coped with the pandemic ahead of other countries, which accelerated the recovery of demand for diamond jewellery in the country,” noted the miner. “Major jewellery retailers in China reported higher than expected May sales. In May to June, jewellery stores began to reopen in other countries and regions, primarily in the US, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.”