Rough diamond exports drop to $216.3 million in February, says Botswana
Rough diamond exports drop to $216.3 million in February, says Botswana
The Bank of Botswana reported that the country's rough diamond exports fell to $216.3 million in February. That compares with $320.1 million in January.
However, the rough diamond exports for January-February of $536.4 million, mean the country's rough exports for the first quarter are likely to be close to the figure of $826.8 million for the first three months of 2012.
Botswana's exports of polished diamonds showed an even steeper drop – at just $19.5 million in January, well under its monthly average in 2012 of $58.8 million.
The central bank did not supply rough and polished diamond import statistics for February. In January, rough imports came to $160.9 million, while polished imports were just $7.8 million.
The transfer of the Diamond Trading Company's (DTC) sorting operations to Botswana from London is due to be completed by the end of 2013.