De Beers and the Namibian government have agreed that 16 percent of the annual production of Namdeb, their 50-50 diamond mining joint venture, will be made directly available to the Namibian diamond polishing industry to encourage its growth.

As per reports, this would translate into about 320,000 carats a year, since last year Namdeb and De Beers Marine produced 2 million carats of rough from the southwest African nation.

Andreas Herrl�, chair of the Jewellers' Association of Namibia (Jassona), welcomed the agreement and said that it would make it possible to sell truly Namibian branded diamond jewelry to the growing tourist market.