African diamond-producing countries and global industry leaders pledged Wednesday to dedicate one percent of revenue to market natural diamonds in the face of competition from synthetic versions, the Angolan government said.

Ministers from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an agreement on the new project at talks in Luanda with leading diamond mining companies including De Beers, the mineral resources ministry said in a statement.

The natural diamond market is under pressure from sales of laboratory-grown gems which are cheaper and only take a few weeks to produce.

"Through this agreement, governments, producers, and other industry stakeholders commit to contributing the equivalent of one percent of their annual rough diamond sales revenue to fund a global marketing initiative led by the Natural Diamond Council," minerals minister Diamantino Azevedo said in the statement.

Strategic investment

The council is a not-for-profit group that promotes natural diamonds.

The pact was a "strategic investment in the future of our industry", the minister said.

It aimed to "ensure the next generation of consumers is well-informed about the rarity, authenticity, and positive impact of natural diamonds on producing communities and countries," the statement said.

Africa is estimated to produce around 65 percent of the world’s rough diamonds.

Botswana, where the stones account for 30 percent of GDP and 80 percent of exports, ranks second producer in the world after Russia.

Angola was the world's fourth largest diamond producing country in 2023, according to the Kimberley Process regulatory body, with a total production value of over $1.5 billion.