GABORONE, Botswana – Sales of rough diamonds at the Debswana Diamond Company fell about 52 percent in the first nine months of 2024, data released by Botswana’s central bank showed this week, as the downturn in the global diamond market persisted.
Debswana, equally owned by Botswana and Anglo American Plc’s De Beers, sells 75 percent of its output to De Beers, with the balance taken up by the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC).
Last year, Botswana and De Beers agreed to a new 10-year diamond sales agreement, where ODC will receive 30 percent of Debswana’s produce and this will be scaled up to 50 percent by the end of the new contract.
In the first three quarters of the year up to September, Debswana had sold diamonds worth $1.53 billion compared to $3.19 billion in the same period last year, the Bank of Botswana said on Tuesday.
In local currency terms, sales were down 50.3 percent to 20.9 billion pula, which translates to about $1.55 billion based on current exchange rates.
Botswana gets 30 percent -40 percent of its revenue, 75 percent of its foreign exchange earnings, and a third of its national output from diamonds. It is the world’s top producer of the gem by value.
The southern African country held general elections on Wednesday, with the poor performance of the economy -largely due to the downturn in the global diamond market – and high levels of unemployment among the issues in focus.
“Our diamonds have not been selling since April, so yes, our revenues are down but the economic fundamentals still remain intact,” President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is seeking a second term, said at a presidential debate last week.
Early results showed the opposition parties had secured at least 31 of the 61 seats in parliament, allowing them to choose the next president – a first defeat for Masisi and the ruling Botswana Democratic Party since independence over six decades ago. – Reuters
