By Southern Times Writer
Windhoek – Botswana’s state-run diamond trader reported record revenue last year with sales surging almost five-fold after imports from the United States recovered from a COVID-19-induced slowdown.
Okavango Diamond Company sold US$963 million of rough diamonds last year, said Mr Dennis Tlaang, a company spokesman. The revenue was the most since the company began operations in 2012, he said.
Three weeks ago, Debswana Diamond Company reported sales of rough diamonds jumped 64 percent in 2021, driven by the reopening of key global consumer markets.
According the country’s central bank, the total value of Debswana’s diamond exports stood at US$3.466 billion last year, compared with US$2.120 billion in 2020.
For Okavango Diamond Company, Mr Tlaang this week said that, “The demand for natural rough diamonds remained strong throughout 2021 driven primarily by positive market sentiment in key markets such as the United States.”
He added that sales could rise further this year after De Beers, the world’s biggest producer of diamonds, pushed through one of its most aggressive price increases in recent years. Okavango also got higher than usual prices in the sole auction it held this year, Mr Tlaang said.
“We believe this is a good indicator of the market dynamics of 2022, at least for the first half of the year. The company will continue to drive customer participation by marketing its rough diamond assortment in key markets such as Antwerp and Dubai.”
Under a 2011 agreement between De Beers and the Government of Botswana, Okavango buys 25 percent of the nation’s annual production for independent marketing and the balance is sold through the De Beers’ trading network.
Back to Debswana, sales recovered last year after a 30 percent slump in 2020 as COVID-19 hit the global economy hard.
Debswana is a joint venture between De Beers and Botswana’s government, and it sells 75 percent of its output to De Beers with the balance taken up by Okavango Diamond Company.
Production at the company increased by 35 percent to 22.326 million carats in 2021 from 16.559 million carats in 2020, thanks to higher-grade ore at its flagship Jwaneng Mine.
Debswana accounts for almost all Botswana’s diamond exports, with Lucara Diamond Corp’s Karowe Mine being the only other operating diamond mine in the country.
Botswana gets about 30 percent of its revenues and 70 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds. The Southern African country expects its economy to have grown by 9.7 percent in 2021 following contraction of 8.5 in 2020.
