Russia exported 22,844,000 carats of rough diamonds worth some US$1.529 billion in the January to October 2008 period, says a spokesman for the country’s Finance Ministry.
Russian exports to countries that are part of the European Union in the nine month period amounted to 16,326,000 carats of diamonds worth US$1.129 billion. The country’s imports amounted to 225,179 carats of diamonds worth some US$36,149,000 during the January to October 2008 period.
Russian imports from European Union countries amounted to 215,151 carats worth US$30.75 million during the nine month period. During the third quarter of 2008, imports reached 151,890 carats, more than double the 73,289 carats imported in the entire first half of the year.
Russia produced US$2.37 billion worth of rough diamonds in 2007.
Source: www.diamondintelligence.com

An interview with Alex Popov, President of the Moscow Diamond Exchange
