Botswana's diamond exports rose to P9.1 billion in the second quarter of 2011, or were 22 percent higher than the first three months of the year that until now held the all-time record for the highest exports in a quarter.

The record-breaking performance closely mirrors De Beers' recently released historic sales figures for the first half of 2011 in which the diamond giant's rough diamond sales reached P22.5 billion. Although the P9.1 billion exports recorded up to June include a marginal contribution from Firestone Diamonds' BK 11 Mine, the majority of exports are attributable to production from Debswana's three operational mines.

Together the three contribute about nearly 100 percent of all local diamond production and about 70 percent of De Beers' output. The record second quarter exports unveiled by the Bank of Botswana on Wednesday are attributable to the high rough diamond prices noted by De Beers in its first half results.

"A 35-percent rise in rough prices saw sales increase by 33 percent to reach unmatched levels on the back of robust demand in the US, China and India," says De Beers about its recent results. "This is the highest-ever sales figure recorded for the first half of the year, buoyed by continued retail demand from the Indian and Chinese consumer markets and stronger than expected demand in America." The influence of rough diamonds prices in both De Beers and Botswana's record sales can be seen in that production over the first half of the year was largely flat. Debswana produced 11.32 million carats in the first half of the year, up from 10.3 million in 2010, suggesting record exports were from higher prices rather than higher production.

Botswana's record diamond exports for the second quarter represent an 86-percent jump from the corresponding period last year and a 76-percent increase on second quarter 2008 exports, the latter being the last year of normal production before the recession.

Significantly, the second quarter 2011 exports are nearly 90 percent above exports for the corresponding period in 2006 when the country hit an all-time high in diamond production at 34.3 million carats. The latest figures underline the positive industry fundamentals slanted towards producers. In its results, De Beers said rough diamond prices had also been boosted by the dearth of new mines, low inventories at cutting centres and increasing demand. De Beers and other producers remain "cautiously optimistic" on diamond demand for the rest of 2011 as the major market for the precious stones, the US, experiences fluctuations in consumer demand. Latest statistics indicate a gradual rise in consumer demand for durables under which jewellery - diamonds in particular - fall.

Emerging consumption hotspots such as India, China and other Asian centres are also expected to contribute significantly to diamond demand this year and beyond.

For 2010, China and India imported P282 million and P276 million worth of diamonds from Botswana respectively, with most analyses indicating that this uptake will rise in the medium term.