Armenian Trade and Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian said on 9 August at a Yerevan press conference that diamond production decreased by 17 percent for the first half of the year. The decline is tied to the shortfall in diamonds sent to Armenia by Russia for reprocessing and polishing. Russia has supplied Armenia with only 70,000 carats of unprocessed diamonds so far this year, well short of the 2004 quota of 400,000 carats. Russia also maintains strict restrictions on Armenia\'s ability to export processed diamonds. Bilateral trade between Russia and Armenia has also declined, with Armenia now in last place among all former Soviet economies. Enjoying a tenfold increase in output over the last six years, Armenian diamond production was identified by the government as a strategic sector of the economy in December 2003 with the adoption of a three-year program to double the volume of diamond processing and exports. (Arminfo)