Botswana Forecasts 2025 Diamond Recovery
February 11, 25
(IDEX Online) - Botswana's government is forecasting a recovery in the diamond market later this year, and a consequent expansion of the country's economy.
It shrank by 3.1 per cent in 2024, but according to vice president and finance minister Ndaba Gaolathe it is now expected to grow 3.3 per cent in 2025.
"This growth outlook is premised on recovery of the diamond industry, which is expected in the latter part of 2025, and continued positive sentiment in the non-diamond mining sectors," he said yesterday (10 February) in his budget speech for 2025/26.
Diamonds account for around 80 per cent of Botswana's export earnings and a third of total budget revenues.
De Beers and the Botswana government have finally reached agreement on the long-term mining and rough sales deals.
But their joint venture Debswana reported sales for the first three quarters of 2024 were down by 52 per cent.
In December, Gaolathe warned that Botswana's economy could contract by 1.7 per cent during 2024 as a direct result of the diamond.
Slump.
But he predicted better times ahead, with an expected rebound in the diamond market driving overall growth in 2025.
Video grab shows finance minister Ndaba Gaolathe delivering his 2025/26 budget.