(IDEX Online) - Alrosa's rough shipments to India have reportedly resumed, with payments being made in euro via banks in Germany.

Supplies were suspended following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month and the subsequent removal of Russian banks from SWIFT, the mechanism that enables foreign currency transactions.

Alrosa, a third-owned by the Russian government, has now started shipping rough diamond consignments again, according to India's Economic Times.

It quotes Colin Shah, (pictured) chairman of India's Gem & Jewellery Export Council (GJEPC), as saying: "Orders for these diamonds were placed in early March, according to the sightholding schedule of Alrosa. They are coming now."

India relies heavily on Alrosa diamonds. In the first nine months of 2021 around $700m of rough was shipped directly from Russia to India.