Alrosa signs contracts worth $490 million with three Indian companies

Three Indian diamond manufacturers - Diamond India Ltd (DIL), Ratilal Becharlal & Sons (Jasani Group) and Rosy Blue have signed three-year contracts for a direct supply of diamonds with Russian diamond mining company Alrosa. The contracts were signed in Delhi, by Alrosa president Mr. Andreyev Fyodor and relate to supply of $490 million of rough diamonds to India for the said period.

This comes as a successful achievement for the industry, which has been working at gaining direct diamond supplies. Also, the scale of the three contracts is the first such for a mining company to sign with a few Indian diamond manufacturers, reports say. Until now, Indian diamond companies would import roughs mined elsewhere from centres like Belgium and Israel, which would increase costs. The three companies would now benefit with cost reduction of atleast 3-4 percent, being that the deal is a direct sourcing deal for roughs.

The contracts will benefit Alrosa to boost its sales in India to around $1 billion, or a third of its planned output. In 2009, Alrosa had sold over $500 million of roughs to India and in 2008 around $250 million. The company plans to sell $3.2 billion worth of diamonds this year, reports say.

A team from Alrosa is paying a visit to India, as part of a delegation led by Russian Prime Minister Mr. Vladimir Putin.