Alrosa Sells 34.6m Carats in 2023
December 26, 23
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa, Russia's state-controlled diamond miner, produced 34.6m carats during 2023, in line with its forecasts, according to the Tass news agency.
That's a slight drop on its 35.6m carat production in 2022, but suggests US sanctions and voluntary bans on buying Russian goods have so far had a negligible impact.
Alrosa's biggest rival, De Beers, produced 34.6m carats in 2022, but is expected to see reduction this year. During the first three quarters of 2023 its total output was 23.9m carats.
The government of Russia's Sakha (Yakutia) republic owns 25 per cent of Alrosa and is home to its headquarters.
The head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, said the company had fulfilled all the main production and planned indicators for the year.
"We would like to remind you that this year Alrosa paid dividends to shareholders for the first time in the last two years, and in general, it is expected that the company's revenues to the republic's budget will significantly exceed the initial forecasts and last year's figure," he said.
Russia remains adamant that G7 sanctions, which take effect on 1 January, will harm the countries that boycott its diamonds more than Russia itself.
Dmitry Peskov (pictured) told reporters last month: "As a rule, it turns out that a boomerang effect is partially triggered: the interests of the Europeans themselves suffer.
"So far, we have been able to find ways to minimise the negative consequences of sanctions."