A special meeting with the President of ALROSA, Andrei Zharkov, was held in the management room of the Israel Diamond Exchange with the participation of the IDE President, Yoram Dvash, Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association President, Kobi Korn, senior officials and many diamond industry members who came to hear of the challenges and plans for the future of the biggest diamond producer in the world.
IDE President Dvash opened the session, speaking about ALROSA's position as a major supplier of rough diamonds. "In recent years ALROSA has become an increasingly significant player in the rough arena. The Israel Diamond Exchange and ALROSA have a shared interest in strengthening business ties between us and enhancing cooperation for the benefit of the Israeli diamond community."
IDE CEO Eli Avidar spoke about the vast professional experience of ALROSA President, Zharkov in the diamond mining industry. "It is a great honor for me to participate in this Diamond Week. As I said at the opening ceremony, Israel is like home for me. ALROSA wants to support the different diamond centers including the Israeli Diamond Exchange. It is important for us to develop them and that is why we are here today," he added.
"ALROSA's representative offices in Israel are going through a re-branding and we changed the name of our offices here from Arcos to, ALROSA Israel. I want to thank the President Dvash, with whom we have excellent relations, and this is a great opportunity to discuss the issues on the agenda with our friends in Israel," he said. He spoke about the strengthening of cooperation with the bourse and a memorandum of understanding signed by the sides two years ago, to boost the exchange of information between organizations.
He spoke about the many issues on ALROSA's global agenda of vision, including increasing detection of natural and synthetic stones, and increased enforcement of disclosure, the markets in which the miner operates and the development of its brand identity. "Israel is one of our three main markets in terms of volume. We are committed to increasing cooperation with Israeli diamond companies and institutions and we will hold tenders here of rough and polished goods that are appropriate and befitting the needs of the market in Israel and the excellent manufacturing conditions here."
Speaking of polished prices, he said: "One of the reasons for the softening of polished prices is the demonetization policy taken by the government of India in order to attract new investors to the country. We are a diamond producer dependent on the Indian market and I expect further reforms in the future which will increase transparency in India." He said one of ALROSA's main challenges is preserving the long-term demand for rough and polished. "That's why we created the DPA. Our economic future is in the hands of the Millennial generation of consumers and how they relate to diamonds," he added.
Zharkov also spoke about the synthetic stone market which he said represented 1%-2% of the global diamond market, and insisted that there be full disclosure, and the use of modern equipment to detect these stones in order to increase consumer confidence in the diamond sector. He described the changes expected in the future with the GIA using different certificates for synthetics generated by that will show in the history of the diamond and the launch of detection recognition programs, in which ALROSA already takes part.
At the end of his comments, he again returned to business relations with the Israeli diamond industry. "ALROSA's commitment to developing the diamond market allows us to be confident in our cooperation with the market in Israel." Finally, in Hebrew, he said: "Thank you for your attention and I wish everyone luck and a blessing." In conclusion, he answered questions from the audience.
