Supply of rough diamonds to Indian companies from Russian diamond miner Alrosa is likely to increase during the 2015 to 2017 contract period, a senior official of the company told a leading Russian news agency. Speaking to RIR, Head of Customer Policy and Marketing at Alrosa, VladlenNogovitsyn said that the company would take stock of the overall situation while selecting its long term customers for this period.

The possibility of sanctions on the import of Russian diamonds to the EU could mean that those companies with offices registered in other countries could receive a greater supply, he added. Currently Belgium receives nearly 50 per cent of Alrosa’s total supplies, while India gets about 15 per cent. Of the 41 long term clients, nine are Indian companies. Both figures could rise in the new period, according to the official.

Some months ago GJEPC and Alrosa signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange information, including statistical indicators of diamonds' export and import, reviews and development forecasts, market research data.