Angola produced 8.55 million carats of diamonds last year, Endiama EP, the country’s state-run gem company, said, Bloomberg reported.

Preliminary estimates show that Angola earned $956 million from the sale of gems at an average price of $111.74 per carat, the Luanda-based company said in an e-mailed statement today, the report said.

The southern African nation was the world’s fourth-largest diamond producer by value in 2009, according to the Kimberley Process. Endiama holds stakes in all diamond mines in Angola.

The company has “practically shut down” its operating unit, known as Endiama P&P, after its debt increased, said a company official who declined to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak to the media.