Zimbabwe has acknowledged that it will fall short of its stated target to earn $600 million in diamond sales in 2012. Zimbabwe's Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu told journalists in Harare that the main reasons for failing to achieve the projected sales figures was the lull in diamond prices worldwide.



Mpofu said that the country's actual diamond production could have been on target, but that the last few months have seen a drop in the market rate for rough diamonds. As a result, diamond producers have less motivation to bring all their diamonds to market, preferring to keep some of them in reserve until prices return to their former heights and increased profits can accrue from their sales.



Mpofu also noted that sanctions by the United States and other Western countries on Zimbabwe's diamond industry were also to blame for the reduced revenues. Mpofu claimed that potential purchasers of Zimbabwe's diamond harvest were being scared off.