JOHANNESBURG, March 5 (ANA) - Anglo American subsidiary De Beers said this week rough diamond sales in the second cycle of 2020 had fallen to $355 million from $551 million in the first cycle, hurt by the coronavirus epidemic which has its roots in China.
"Following an improvement in demand for rough diamonds during the first sales cycle of 2020, we recognised the impact of Covid-19 coronavirus on customers focused on supplying the Chinese market," De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said in a statement.
"(We have) put in place additional targeted flexibility to enable customers to defer allocations of the relevant rough diamonds," Cleaver added.
The latest situational update from the World Health Organisation dated Wednesday says there are now 93 090 confirmed cases of the disease since it was first reported in China last December.
Of these, 80 422 cases have been confirmed in China, while 12 668 have been confirmed in 76 other countries. Some 2 984 deaths have been recorded in China and 214 elsewhere.
- African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
