Russia has further increased its lead over Botswana as the world's primary rough diamond producing country, according to data published by the Kimberley Process for 2015.
Russia’s production rose 14 percent to $4.24 billion. In volume terms, output surged by more than 9 percent to close to 42 million carats.
Botswana, by contrast, saw production fall 18 percent to close to $3.00 billion while, in volume terms, there was a decrease of 16 percent to just under 21.0 million carats.
The Kimberley Process figures also showed that global rough diamond output dropped last year, the first annual drop for three years due to soft demand as a result of high prices for rough goods.
Output in value terms saw a 4 percent drop to $13.9 billion while, in volume terms, there was a rise of 2 percent to 127.4 million carats. In addition, the average price per carat for rough goods plunged 6 percent to around $109.
The figures also showed there was higher demand for lower-priced goods. The average price per carat for diamonds from global production leader Russia was $101.15, while the average price per carat for goods from Botswana was $143.73.
