Diamond giant De Beers has cancelled a diamond auction set for Botswana on Monday, citing the non-availability of international buyers who have failed to travel to the southern African country due global restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the auction, known as “sights,” representatives from De Beers’ more than 80 customers fly to Botswana for about a week during which they inspect and purchase diamonds.
“Due to the public health restrictions on the movement of people and product in Botswana, South Africa and India, which prohibit customers from traveling and prevent the shipment of goods to customers’ international operations, De Beers Group will not hold its third Sight of 2020,” De Beers said in a statement.
Most airlines have cancelled international flights as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, which had as of Monday infected more than 740,000 people worldwide and killed over 35,000.
Botswana is the biggest diamond producer in Africa and the second biggest in the world after Russia, with the mineral accounting for more than 80 percent of the southern African country’s foreign earnings.
KO/jn/APA