Between January and June 2020, Angola raised a total of 476 million dollars from diamond exports. According to figures, cited by Expansão, in the same period last year profits were higher: in the first six months of 2019 Angola raised 617 million dollars from diamond exports, 135 million more than this year.
This year around three million carats were produced in Angola, a drop of around 37 percent when compared to the same period last year, where a total of around five million carats were produced.
According to Expansão, the almost complete stoppage of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, the largest diamond production company in the country, caused a significant drop in diamond production.
The drop in production was more marked between February and May. According to the same newspaper, diamond production in March compared to March 2019 fell by more than 80 per cent. In May the drop was around 71 per cent compared with the same period last year.
On the other hand, despite the fall in production and exports, tax revenue collected in the first six months of the year increased, according to data from the General Tax Administration.
