Belgium Polished Exports Post Sharp Rise in December
January 17, 10 by Edon Ophir
Belgium posted a year-over-year rise in imports and exports of polished diamonds in December. Polished exports totaled 687,791 carats with a value of $779.5 million, increases of 18.5 percent and 13.1 percent respectively, according to data published by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).
During 2009, Belgium exported 7.28 million carats of polished goods worth $8.63 billion, decreases of 16.5 percent and 30 percent compared to 2008.
Belgium imported 563,879 carats in polished diamond imports in December, a 5.3 percent rise from December 2008, with the diamonds' valued at $640.8 million, reflecting a 1.6 percent rise from December 2008.
Compared to 2008, Belgium’s polished diamond imports in 2009 were 23.6 percent lower at 7.35 million carats and 34.2 percent lower in financial terms at $7.95 billion.
Despite being Belgium’s largest polished diamond importer, the U.S. took in just 27.5 percent of Belgium's polished diamonds, 13.9 percent in volume, in 2009. Hong Kong, Belgium’s second largest importer of Belgian polished diamonds, took in 21.5 percent in financial terms and 20.2 percent in volume. The third-largest importer, Israel, imported 9.9 percent in financial terms and 7.3 percent in volume.
