(IDEX Online) - De Beers rough diamond sales crashed to just $80m during cycle 9 as demand virtually evaporated.That's the lowest figure since it started reporting Sight totals in 2016, down 60 per cent on cycle 8 and down 82 per cent on cycle 9 last year.Al Cook, De Beers CEO, said: "Macro-economic challenges continue to affect the diamond sector. The retail recovery in China remains slow. "And the voluntary import moratorium on rough diamonds into India will see extended Diwali holidays and factory closures in the world's largest diamond cutting centre. "In recognition of these conditions, De Beers continued with reduced rough diamond availability in the ninth sales cycle of 2023.Last month the UK-based miner said its full-year production forecast for 2023 would remain unchanged - at 30m to 33m carats - despite a 23 per cent drop in its Q3 output.It says it will stockpile diamonds and allow sightholders to again refuse purchases at it next sight in the confident expectation that demand will return."We build up stocks of those because we are confident that over time the diamond price will increase and we will be able to sell that supply into the growing demand that we believe will come," Cook told a briefing in Gaborone, according to a Bloomberg report.