FRANCISTOWN, Botswana – Botswana’s diamond industry will find solace in China booming market, Botswana’s biggest diamond miner Debswana said on Friday.

In an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the Botswana Chamber of Mines Annual General Meeting in Francistown, Botswana’s second biggest city in northeast, Esther Kanaimba-Senai, Group Manager for Public and Corporate Affairs of Debswana, said China is with bright spots in the global economy.

“China’s tariff reduction and exemption will further enhance exports from Botswana to China, and benefit the economic growth,” he said, adding that it is a big chance for the diamond industry in the country especially when the recent agreement between Botswana and De Beers provides for an independent sales outlet for Botswana, which will begin at 10 percent of Debswana’s run of mine production and rise to 15 percent over a five year period.

During the recently concluded G-20 summit in Cannes and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Honolulu, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced that China would give duty- free status to 97 percent of the tariff items of exports to China from the least developed countries with diplomatic ties to the country.

Senai said after an unprecedented period of growth in the price of both rough and polished diamonds during the first half of 2011, prices have largely plateaued with a softening seen in some categories.

However, he said diamond jewelry sales have been particularly strong in China.

According to official statistics, China overtook Japan to be the second largest consumer of diamonds in 2009.

Senai said an expanding upper-middle-class Chinese consumer will spend about six times as much as his or her Western counterpart on acquiring luxury goods which makes this a very exciting market for the diamond industry.

Botswana is the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, with diamond export accounting for about 70 percent of its foreign currency earnings and near 50 percent of its national revenue. Currently the land-locked Southern African country aspires to be one of the world’s leading diamond trading and manufacturing hubs.

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Botswana diamond industry eyes booming Chinese market