Debswana Sales up 25% to a Record $4.5bn
February 09, 23645x.jpg)
(IDEX Online) - Debswana saw rough sales increase by almost a quarter in 2022, as buyers shunned Russian goods.
Total revenue last year hit a record $4.588bn, up 24.2 per cent from $3.466bn in 2021.
That's equivalent to a 48.3 per cent rise in local currency (pula) because of the stronger US dollar, according to a Reuters news report.
Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, operates Jwaneng, the richest diamond mine in the world by value, and accounts for almost all country's diamond production
Botswana, the world's second biggest producer after Russia (at least prior to the invasion of Ukraine) relies on diamonds for 70 per cent of its foreign exchange revenue.
But its president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, says it must diversify into gold, metals, coal and other commodities, and end its dependence on diamonds.
Diamond sales during Covid-hit 2020, when the country closed its borders for eight months because of lockdowns and travel restrictions, fell to $2.02bn, down from $3.05bn in 2019.
Pic at Jwaneng mine, courtesy Debswana