Next year, ALROSA may suspend production at less profitable sections of its deposits due to a protracted crisis in the diamond industry, the company's CEO said.
"The industry is currently experiencing another crisis. This crisis is quite deep. If you look at its duration, we have been recording a steady decline in prices for the second year in a row... We are in a period when we are forced to engage in optimization measures, when we are forced to carefully monitor our expenses, reduce our costs," said ALROSA CEO Pavel Marinychev in an interview with the Almazny Krai TV channel, excerpts from which were published by RIA Novosti.
The company is considering suspending production at some sections of its mining projects that are at the marginal level of profitability. In addition, ALROSA plans to reduce the wage fund by 10% and optimize some of the staff.
Nevertheless, Marinychev emphasized that with the market recovery, the company will be able to quickly increase production capacity and operate as before. In addition, none of the deposits will be completely shut down.
"We see that demand is gradually recovering in the US - these are good signs before Christmas - a traditional time when sales grow. There is such a trigger that if sales start to grow during Christmas, then in 2025, with a careful sales policy, we can hope that prices will start to grow," Marinychev added.
In addition, the CEO believes that a good sign for the market is that India, being the largest diamond producer, is starting to see an increase in demand. It may become the second-largest diamond consumer after the US by the end of next year.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
