Canada announces additional ban on imports of Russian diamonds

OTTAWA -- Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announced on Friday that Canada is imposing additional import restrictions on Russian diamonds.

This ban further builds on Canada's December 2023 import restrictions on diamonds and diamond-jewellery-related products from Russia by targeting indirect imports of Russian diamonds weighing 1 carat and above, Joly said in a news release.

It is consistent with the commitments made in February, May and December 2023 by the Group of Seven (G7) leaders to reduce the revenues from the export of non-industrial diamonds from Russia, she said.

According to the release, Russia is the world's largest rough diamond producer and also a significant global exporter of diamonds and diamond products. The value of Russia's total exports exceeded approximately 5.2 billion Canadian dollars ($3.8 billion) in 2022. Together, G7 countries represent 70 percent of the world diamond market, the release said.