MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Alrosa expects an increase in the demand for diamonds in 2022 because of the surge in weddings in the United States, the largest market, Deputy CEO of the Russian diamond miner Alexey Filippovsky said on Thursday.

"Delayed weddings are a major factor in terms of the demand," the top manager said. "If speaking about our largest market, the US market, there are about 2 mln weddings annually in the country. This figure declined significantly in 2020 due to obvious reasons - there were around 1.2 mln weddings. We expected a recovery in 2021, which took place. About 1.8 mln weddings as of the year-end but still lower than before the [coronavirus related - TASS] crisis. Nevertheless, we are fairly optimistic in 2022 that there will be about 2.2 - 2.5 mln weddings per year, creating very strong demand in particular for good, expensive and high-quality diamonds," Filippovsky said.

About half the consumption on the global diamond market is associated with weddings and engagements, the top manager said.

"It is also interesting that certain norms are in place regarding the price of a diamond or a ring with a diamond presented for an engagement or wedding," the Deputy CEO said. "For example, a diamond for engagement or wedding in the US should cost approximately two-three monthly salaries of a groom," he added.