The month of June was a serious disappointment for diamond exporters in Botswana. Rough and Polished reports that $217 million worth of both rough and polished diamonds were exported from the country during this period, but in the month prior the total diamond exports amounted to $457 million, more than twice that first figure.

According to Statistics Botswana, the steep decrease was mostly due to a drop in the exports of rough diamonds. Significantly, these rough export figures do not solely represent stones mined in Botswana, but include gems that were mined by De Beers in South Africa, Namibia and as far off as Canada, and imported into the country for aggregation and sorting purposes.

Even at this decreased level, the diamond exports accounted for just over two-thirds of the country's total exports, which equaled $332 million worth in June, according to Rough and Polished.

As per usual, Statistics Botswana's numbers were different than those of the country's central bank. The latter released other numbers three weeks ago which were markedly higher.