MOSCOW, March 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia produced 36,925,000 carats of diamonds in 2008 worth a total of $2.5 billion, a fall of 3.5% year-on-year, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

The average diamond price last year was $67.95 per carat.

In 2007, Russia mined 38,291,000 carats, worth $2.62 billion, at an average price of $68.56 per carat.

Russia's largest diamond producer, Alrosa, said last month it intends to step up sales of high-quality diamonds, promoting them as saving instruments amid the ongoing global financial crisis.

Alrosa, which accounts for 97% of Russian and 25% of global diamond output, said the sale of quality diamonds was so far a pilot project worth $10-15 million, adding that the idea had been put forward by Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin as a risk-hedging measure.