Trade war between US and China affects Alrosa's diamond sales

Alrosa, the world's leading producer of diamonds, told Reuters that the company expects a drop in its sales in 2019 due to weaker demand for polished diamonds from China.

"We will not reach last year's sales numbers," Evgeniy Agureev, director of sales for Alrosa, said.  

In 2018, sales rose 6 percent from the previous year to $4.5 billion but the trend has changed, he said.

Agureev said that in the first quarter of 2019, Alrosa's sales had dropped 38 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018, to $988 million, adding that he expected sales in the current quarter sales not remain under $1 billion. The reason for the drop in sales is the trade war between the U.S. and China that has affected polished diamond sales in China negatively, Agureev said. Demand for polished diamonds during China’s Lunar New Year was also subdued and sales in 2019 are likely to be lower than a year ago.