Botswana Posts Sharp Fall in Rough Diamond Exports in May

Botswana's exports of rough diamonds in May slumped to $267.7 million from $402.2 million in April, the Bank of Botswana reported in official statistics.

Exports of rough goods in the first three months of this year fell to $718.9 million from $826.8 million in the same period of last year.

Although there were no figures relating to polished exports in April or May, in the first quarter, polished diamond exports totaled $102.0 million down significantly from $160.5 million in the same period last year.

The Bank of Botswana reported that all diamond exports in the first quarter came to $1.771 billion. That compares with $1.018 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

The figures give a clear picture of the increasing amounts of diamonds being exported from Botswana as the Diamond Trading Company moves its operations to Gaborone from London.

That transfer of operations is due to be completed by October, and the first DTC sight in Botswana will take place in November, according to De Beers.