Russia's Gokhran – the State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository – plans to sell some $369 million worth of diamonds and precious metals this year and purchase a stock of rubles, the country's Interfax news agency reports.

According to Interfax, the Gokhran expects to raise approximately $105 million from selling its diamonds, including $17 million in export sales. The remaining $264 million will come from the sale of metals, excluding gold, which in recent months has reached near-record levels in trade.

The Gokhran served a key role in Russia's diamond industry after the global financial crisis hit in the third quarter of 2008. Alrosa, the state-owned diamond producer, complied with the international diamond trade's request to cut supply so as not to create a market glut, but rather than drastically reducing production, Alrosa chose to sell much of its diamonds to Gokhran.

In March of 2010, as the diamond industry began to see strong indications of recovery, Gokhran head Vladimir Rybkin told the Moscow Rough&Polished diamond trade journal that Gokhran's purchases of diamonds from Alrosa during the crisis had been completed without any sorting or valuing to support Alrosa rather than realize a profit. Nevertheless, he noted, the value of the Gokhran's stock had increased as diamond prices rose.