Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, registered a 64% increase in sales of rough diamonds last year, according to data released by the Bank of Botswana.
The central bank data showed that Debswana’s total value of diamond exports for the period was $3.466 billion in 2021 compared with $2.120 billion, a year earlier.
Debswana sales eased 30% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected diamond trading. However, Anglo recently said demand for rough diamonds had since improved with positive midstream sentiment and strong demand for diamond jewellery continuing over the 2021 holiday period, particularly in the key U.S. consumer market.
The diamond company increased its output by 35% to 22.326 million carats in 2021 compared with 16.559 million carats in 2020.
It sells 75% of its output to De Beers and the remaining 25% to the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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