De Beers Posts Impressive Sales

Although DTC Botswana sold 29 million carats over the year, parent company, the  De Beers Group announced on Friday that the sales have gone up, beating 2007 sales by one per cent.  De Beers's 2008 sales surpassed the 2007 sales mark despite a challenging year marked by a drastic drop in demands for diamonds. During the budget speech, Gaolathe painted a pessimistic picture saying that diamond sales revenue is expected to decline by about 50 percent as prices are estimated to decrease by 15 percent, while production is expected to reduce by 35 percent.

But De Beers is optimistic that the future is bright despite the global financial crisis.