The Russian State Treasury may sell between $500 million and $800 million of rough diamonds so that rough prices won't go up due to both speculative demand and the shortage of rough. Russia bought $1 billion of rough in 2009 to support ALROSA, so now the government is planning its commercial strategy to sell by the end of the year. It was not yet clear how the sales would take place, although ALROSA insists that its sales model is contingent on long-term contracts. 

The concern over the shortage of rough and the negative impact of selling though auctions was voiced at recent committee meetings of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). Shmuel Schnitzer, the honorary lifetime president of the Israel Diamond Exchange, called auctions one of the “sicknesses” of the industry. 

“This moves small- and medium-sized companies out of the industry,” he said.