Kimberley Process Publishes Statistics - Mar.2008

Kimberley Process Chairman, Karel Kovanda of the European Commission, who took over as KP chairman at the beginning of the year, announced today the publication of Kimberley participants’ figures on rough diamond production and trade data, to all interested parties.

"We are proud of what the Kimberley Process has achieved, bringing together governments, industry and civil society in a partnership which has ensured that the vast majority of diamond production is now conflict-free, and are committed to delivering further improvements in the areas identified by members last year," Kovanda said. "This is a welcome advance in the KP, demonstrating participant countries' willingness to open up statistics for scrutiny and analysis, helping to ensure that there is no room for any conflict diamonds in the legitimate KP certified diamond trade."

Statistical data of trade and production, by value and volume, and Kimberley certificate counts for 2004 and 2005 are now available at the Kimberley Process website. 2006 data will be made available later in 2007.   v