State diamond monopoly Alrosa has asked the Finance Ministry to stop sales of the precious gem from Gokhran, the state depository, to help stabilize prices, Interfax reported Wednesday, citing a copy of the letter.

Last week, Alrosa said it was cutting its 2009 production plans by one-fifth because global demand for diamonds has plummeted. The company has been selling all of its diamonds to the depositary in recent months.

The letter from Alrosa president Sergei Vybornov was addressed to Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who also heads the company’s supervisory board, Interfax reported.

The company is asking the ministry to “temporarily halt the sales of uncut diamonds from Gokhran and to stop the competitive trade in diamonds bigger than 10.8 carats,” the letter said. It also requests that the price schedule for uncut diamonds not be changed.

Credit is given to The Mosco Times by DiamondTopics.com (Cached News)