GABORONE, March 1 (Reuters) - Botswana expects output from its mining sector to be flat this year, as the diamond industry loses its sparkle due to a contraction in consumer spending and weaker demand for diamond jewellery, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday. Diamond trading grew 41% in the year as Botswana also benefitted from Western buyers shunning stones from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, Botswana expects diamond output to decline by 1%, while diamond trading growth is seen slowing to 7% from 41% last year. Finance ministry estimates show that government expects mineral royalties to fall to 4,5 billion pula ($3.41 billion) in 2023, from 6.1 billion pula last year. Dividends due to the state will also decline to 11,3 billion pula from 15 billion pula in 2022.

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