Botswana diamond export plunges in July
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E-mail Xinhua, October 6, 2012
Botswana diamond export plunges in July
GABORONE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Botswana diamond exports dropped radically to 597.95 million pula, or 77 million U.S. dollars in July, witnessing a decrease by 81.4 percent from the value of 3.2 billion pula recorded during June, and a year-on-year decrease of 83.9 percent from 3.7 billion in July 2011.
The latest report released by the Statistics Botswana (SB) indicates that Botswana did not export any rough diamonds in July 2012.
SB attributed the plunge to the on-going relocation of De Beers' sales unit to Botswana where rough diamond aggregation takes place as opposed to the past when it was done in London.
"with the relocation of Diamond Trading Company from London to Gaborone, hiccups are inevitable in the exportation of Botswana rough diamonds for the first few months. This is owing to the fact that diamonds from all over the world are pooled together before being re-valued and distributed to various companies the world over, that need diamonds for further processing and/or manufacturing purposes," said the report.
As a result, no Botswana rough diamonds were reported as having been exported during July and this resulted in low value of exports for the month, since Botswana exports were heavily dependent on the value of rough diamond exports.
Total exports were valued at 1, 398.9 million pula during July, having decreased by 64 percent from the value of 3, 916.7 million pula recorded during June. Comparison of July 2012 and July 2011 total export values show a decrease of 68.2 percent from 4, 403 million pula to 1, 398.9 million pula.
The report reveals that Botswana's international merchandise trade continues to record trade deficits since the fourth quarter of 2008 with the exception of June 2010 and July 2011 where there were trade surpluses of 288.1 million pula and 769.1 million pula respectively.
It says in July a deficit of 2,093.9 million pula was recorded, adding that total export value has decreased by 68 per cent compared to July last year.
Local experts said the global diamond market is going through a rough patch with prices falling and demand losing steam in key markets. Botswana being the biggest producer of the gem stones in the world by value, is hit hard by the downturn.
After a robust first seven months of 2011 in which demand and prices recorded phenomenal upswings, the diamond market softened in the later part of the year, a trend which has continued into 2012.
Rough and polished market players say diamond-trading trends have deteriorated due to Eurozone economy concerns, tight liquidity and reduced demand in India and China.
Varda Shine, the CEO of Diamond Trading Company, the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers, said in a recent visit to Botswana that high stock levels, liquidity constraints, a weaker Rupee in India and softer demand from China have contributed to lower global demand this year.
Shine said after firming by a significant 25 percent last year, diamond consumer demand is slower this year and will probably end the year at around 10 percent. Enditem
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