Based on production in 2010 when the Kimberly Process let Zimbabwe export a limited quantity of diamonds from its Marange field, the country jumped from 13th to seventh place

Zimbabwe has been ranked seventh in the world in terms of the value of its diamond production according to the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.

Based on production in 2010 when the Kimberly Process let Zimbabwe export a limited quantity of diamonds from its Marange field, the country leaped from 13th place.

Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Angola and Namibia led production.

Last year Zimbabwe produced $339.8 million worth of diamonds, a big jump from the $20.4 million worth produced in 2009. The value of a carat from Zimbabwe during the same period almost doubled from about $21 to more than $40.

Farai Maguwu, director of the Center for Research and Development in Mutare and a prominent critic of Harare's development of the Marange field, said the gains registered by the diamond sector have not translated into a better life for most Zimbabweans.

Global rough diamond production rose 39 percent in 2010 and the average price per carat increased 30 percent, according to the Kimberley report.