Botswana’s Diamond Exports Cool in February
April 03, 11(IDEX Online News) - Diamond exports from Botswana totaled $202.2 million (1,367 million pula) in February. Year over year, the exports are a small 0.6% increase in dollar values. Compared to January, exports dropped by 42.9%, based on figures released by the Bank of Botswana.
While on a monthly basis 2011 is still on average the best year since 2007, the sharp difference between January’s exports and February’s leaves room for plenty of change along the year.
The total exports figure includes rough diamond exports, mainly by De Beers, as well as polished diamond exports by the dozen polishing facilities erected as part of the country’s beneficiation program.
In January, Botswana exported $354.3 million worth of rough and polished diamonds, rising 40.3% year over year and 136.8% month over month.