Rough diamond sales figures reported by Botswana's Debswana Diamond Company hit all-time highs last year, according to data published on Tuesday.

This stemmed from Botswana taking advantage of the steady global demand for diamond jewellery as Western buyers spurned Russian stones.

Debswana – a joint venture between Botswana's government and Anglo American AAL.L unit De Beers – sells 75% of its output to De Beers, with the remainder allocated to the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company, Reuters news agency reports.

Last year, diamond sales from Debswana stood at $4.588 billion, compared to $3.466 billion the year before, according to data published by the central bank.

In Botswana's currency, Debswana's rough diamond sales increased 48.3% to 56.544 billion Pula, indicating a stronger Dollar over the year.

Debswana is responsible for the majority of diamonds produced in Botswana, as the country's only other operating diamond mine in the country is Lucara's LUC.TO Karowe mine.

Botswana creates around 30% of its revenue and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds, the Reuters report adds.

The country reported a 66% rise in mineral revenues in the first half of the fiscal year due to the robust performance of its diamonds, resulting in a 0.55% budget surplus, as per a report by the ministry of finance.

However, despite the improvement, the finance ministry still forecasts a budget deficit of 7.7 billion Pula – 3.4% of GDP – for the current fiscal year, Bloomberg reported last month.

The figures are set to be updated by the country's finance minister, Peggy Serame, during the presentation of the 2023/24 budget on Monday.