Tatiana Pototskaya,
Senior Expert, Marketing Department, Kristal JSC

    If one assumes the definition of ¡°free market¡± (the market with prices governed by the laws of supply and demand), this type of market for the diamond industry to a certain degree can be viewed as a diamond market segment developing independently of DeBeers, the global operator primarily active in the production and supply of rough diamonds. In 2004, the share of this segment in the world primary diamond market accounted for 50%, i.e. $ 5.7 billion. The principal suppliers to this market were the following countries and companies (Fig. 1):
    Russia ¨C ALROSA;
    Canada ¨C in the main, BHP Billiton (from Ekati mine), as well as Rio Tinto and Aber Resources (from Diabik deposit);
    Angola ¨C...

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