Revenues of Angola’s national diamond trading company, Sodiam, rose 3.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, with the government recording a separate rise in prices.
Prices of Angola’s diamonds have risen since the implementation of the country’s new, more competitive diamond trading policy last year, said the government recently in a Facebook post. Thanks to this program, miners can offer 60% of their production to customers of their choice.
The proceeds for the three months ending June 30 came from the sale of 1.5 million carats of rough diamonds at 232.8 million dollars, i.e. an average price of 155 dollars per carat.
Compared to the previous quarter, sales decreased by $ 135.8 million, because Catoca, Angola’s largest producer, did not sell its April production. National production for the quarter fell by 4.2% compared with the same period a year ago. Catoca contributes about 80% of the total.
“Catoca’s April production will be commercialized and will be reflected in the next quarter,” said Jânio Corrêa Víctor, Secretary of State for Geology and Mines. “There will be no impact on state revenues.“
