For the period from September 2023 to August 2024, Botswana’s trade deficit has been negative, reflecting an unfavourable trading condition for the landlocked country. “Since September 2023, Botswana has consistently recorded a trade deficit. In August 2024, the country recorded its largest deficit of the year 2024, amounting to P5.74 billion,” the report revealed. In August 2024, Botswana received imports valued at P8.6 billion with leading imported commodity groups being fuel, diamonds, food, beverages and tobacco, machinery and electrical equipment as well as chemicals and rubber products.
Under government’s agreement with De Beers, rough diamonds from the group’s operations around the world are imported into Botswana for processing, together with locally produced stones, before subsequent sale to buyers from around the world. Therefore, Statistics Botswana records diamonds as both imports and exports. According to the data agency exported goods in August were valued at P2.9 billion with diamonds heading the fort as the primary export, accounting for 45.7%. Diamond exports have, however, fallen steeply since last year owing to a downturn in the Chinese economy and a sluggish American economy that battled heavily with high interest rates in past quarters. This has had the overarching effect of harming the value of Botswana exports in past quarters.
“The diamonds group played a pivotal role in the overall decrease of total exports, dropping by 28.5% (P528.8 million) from a revised July 2024 value of P1.9 billion to P13 billion in August,” the IMTS revealed. The data centre further revealed that export earnings fell by 18.4% (P652.7 million) from the revised July 2024 figure of P36 billion to P2.9 billion in August 2024. Exports across all principal commodity groups experienced contractions. Top export destinations were to Asia specifically the UAE, China and India at 23.2% (P673.3 million), 15.2% (P439.3 million), and 11.8% (P340.7 million) of total exports, respectively.
