According to reports reaching here, De Beers Group diamond production including joint ventures in Botswana and Namibia amounted to 47 million carats, 3 million carats (7 per cent) more than in 2003. While Debswana's production rose by 2 per cent to over 31 million carats, that at Namibia grew by 28 per cent to nearly 1.9 million carats. However De Beers' older and more marginal mines in South Africa remained under pressure, particularly due to weakness of the dollar, the currency in which diamonds are sold. In terms of value, aggregate sales by the Diamond Trading Company - the marketing arm of De Beers amounted to US$ 5,695 million, indicating a rise of 3 per cent over 2003. Rough diamond prices rose by an average of 14 per cent during 2004.
Global retail sales of diamond jewellery in 2004 indicated an increase of about 6 per cent in local currencies and 8 per cent in dollar, compared with the same a year ago.
Anglo American's share from De Beers' operating profit in 2004 rose by 4 per cent to US$ 586 million, compared with US$ 562 million in the earlier year.