Angola hoards over one million carats of diamonds in anticipation of better prices

Angola hoards over one million carats of diamonds in anticipation of better prices, said José Ganga Júnior, Endiama’s President to the LUSA agency.

Endiama is the state-owned company responsible for Angola’s diamond mining and trading activities. It is officially known as Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola, E.P. (Endiama).

He commented during the semi-annual diamond production review meeting in Dundo, Lunda Norte province.

Júnior noted the lack of buyers to absorb production levels consistently over the past six months.

“The market situation is poor, affecting companies’ operational costs. We must find survival ways using necessary creativity,” he emphasized to LUSA.

Júnior highlighted that Endiama is restructuring to serve the country better and monitor diamond companies closely.

Endiama intends to transition from administrative to productive, aiming to bolster Angola’s geological, mining, and national economy by 2024.

Diamond companies will assess the past five years’ production, present the current year’s first half operational situation, and conduct economic and financial analyses.

Angola earned US$711.7 million from exporting 4.6 million carats of diamonds in this year’s first half, a 2.8% decrease from last year, with a 12.41 million carats production target set for this year.

PRICE DECLINES

Angola’s diamond market faces challenges due to substantial price drops, indicating market condition declines, said José Ganga Júnior at an earlier moment.

This year’s goals are around 10 million carats. Companies are working towards these targets, but some haven’t had sales for about three months due to reduced demand.

Comparing the first half of 2022 with 2023, some companies experienced up to 49% price reductions, with the lowest levels around 12% to 30%.

The situation is significant for the involved businesses, but Júnior expressed optimism, believing that overcoming the present challenges with resilience is possible.

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