mo4ch:>Coronavirus brings diamond sales to an almost complete halt | Mo4ch News

A leading global diamond producer, Russia’s ALROSA, is reporting that its sales were down tenfold in one month alone, as the impact of Covid-19 ripples through the global economy and supply chains.In April, ALROSA sold a total of just $15.6 million-worth of rough and polished diamonds. This is down from over $152 million a month earlier and from $400 million in sales in the beginning of the year. “Restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus and a decline in demand for diamond jewelry have minimized the trade in rough and polished diamonds across the world,” Evgeny Agureev, Deputy CEO of ALROSA, said in a statement. The steep decline came as the company offered its clients a delay in purchases initially scheduled for April, to offset the challenges the industry currently faces. However, ALROSA hopes that the crisis will be short-term and the demand for gems will start to rebound in the beginning of the third quarter. The deadly virus has resulted in massive production shut-downs worl…