Business

Trade deficit eases in 2025

Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday March 31, 2026 09:41

Expanding: Khoemacau's operations contributed to easing the trade deficit last year. The copper producer is expanding operations this year PIC: MMG.COM
 
Expanding: Khoemacau's operations contributed to easing the trade deficit last year. The copper producer is expanding operations this year PIC: MMG.COM

Figures released by Statistics Botswana indicate that softer imports of diamonds for the year also contributed to the improved numbers. Under the agreement with De Beers, Botswana imports diamonds from the company’s mines around the world, which are then sorted and sold from Gaborone, for export to buyers globally.

Statistics Botswana’s figures show that for 2025, diamond exports rose to P53.9 billion from about P44 billion in 2024. Copper exports reached P11.03 billion in 2025, compared to P10.06 billion in the prior year.

Diamond imports, meanwhile, fell to P9.3 billion in 2025, from P18.3 billion in 2024, indicating greater efforts to clear out the inventory that has clogged the market since 2023. Whilst the annual trade deficit continued, its decline in 2025 helped ease the decline in foreign exchange reserves, which are needed to defend the value of the pula.