Anglo American : Botswana rough diamond exports down 66% in 3rd quarter

GABORONE, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Botswana’s rough diamond
exports plunged all-around 66% in the third quarter in comparison with
the exact same period past 12 months, knowledge confirmed on Friday, as the
coronavirus pandemic hit desire and worldwide journey limitations
impacted buying and selling.

Botswana shut its borders in March to suppress the distribute of
the virus, locking out worldwide potential buyers from nations around the world like
India, Belgium and China who usually vacation to Gaborone
quite a few situations a year to see and invest in diamonds.

In accordance to central bank knowledge, Debswana, a joint venture
among Botswana and Anglo American device De Beers,
exported rough diamonds value $287 million in the third quarter
of 2020, towards $863 million in the identical quarter of 2019.

Botswana gets about 30% of its govt revenues from
diamonds, which represent 70% of exports.

Even though it has recorded only about 6,600 COVID-19 scenarios
and 24 fatalities, Botswana’s economy has been severed afflicted by
the pandemic, with authorities predicting an 8.9% contraction in
2020.

The govt stated this 7 days that to restart the tourism
sector, which is the country’s next-biggest foreign trade
earner, it will from Nov. 1 open up its borders to global
travelers by allowing for private chartered flights into two towns
close to its prime attraction, the Okavango Delta.
(Reporting by Brian Benza
Enhancing by Alexander Profitable and David Holmes)