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Antwerp Diamond Centre is to release a stalled shipment of gems worth $200 million.

Some $200 million (£128.5 million) worth of diamonds has been released by a regulatory body in Belgium after a trading organisation lost its license.

According to Israeli Diamond Industry, the shipment of rough diamonds was seized because Brink, the organisation managing the transfer, had to commence bankruptcy proceedings for its Cash in Transit company earlier in November, with its license to trade revoked as a result.

The stones were held at Zaventem Airport under the authority of the Antwerp Diamond Centre (AWDC), an international regulatory body for the industry, after it raised financial concerns over the issue.

An open letter from the AWDC stated that the stalled shipment paralysed the distribution chain of rough gems, causing a great deal of damage to the sector, adding "Antwerp cannot be held hostage in this conflict any longer."

Last week, two rough diamonds mined in Lesotho, southern Africa were sold for $22.7 million, while a 4.68-carat rough blue diamond went for $4155,000 per carat – a record value for a gemstone from that site.

The Russian mining giant is in talks to supply rough diamonds to three Indian companies, with the deals expected to be signed next year.

Russian diamond miner Alrosa is planning to open an office in India and is in negotiation to supply the precious stones to three companies in the country.

Domain-B reports Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying the state-owned firm will distribute rough diamonds to the three enterprises – Diamond India, Ratilal Becharlal & Sons and Rosy Blue – providing they can agree contracts.

It is seeking to sign three-year deals with each business, which would see it provide rough gems worth $490 million (£308 million).

Signing of the agreements is expected to take place in March 2011, when Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin will make a working visit to Russia.

Recent figures released by the mining giant – which is responsible for 97 per cent of Russia's total diamond output – showed it expects to have sold rough and polished examples of the precious stones worth in excess of $2.78 million in the first nine months of 2010.

Ghana has posted a year-on-year increase in diamond production for the first half of 2010, with revenue generated from the stones also rising.

Diamond production in Ghana climbed during the opening half of this year, new official statistics have revealed.

Data from the country's Chamber of Mines showed output of the precious stones was up 14 per cent year-on-year in the six-month period, Bloomberg reports.

The increase resulted in a substantial rise in revenue generated from diamond production, jumping 15 per cent to $6.85 million (£4.4 million) when compared to the same period in 2009.

In total, 201,792 carats of the precious stones were mined in the first half of this year.

The rate of production across the period was consistent, with 99,008 carats of diamonds retrieved from mines in the three months to June 30th.

Ghana is one of a number of countries that have recently released diamond statistics.

Exports of the polished and rough gems from Israel rose from to $5.9 billion between January and August 2010, up from $3.3 billion a year ago.