Belgian Net Polished Diamond Exports Total $212.3 Million in February

Belgium’s polished diamond market is continuing its recovery from the global recession, posting a double-digit growth in exports and imports. Belgium exported in February 582,934 carats of polished diamonds worth $875.26 million, a 1 percent growth in volume but a 15.4 percent growth in value, underscoring the rising prices of the goods.

According to figures released Tuesday by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), polished diamond imports in February rose 21.6 percent to $662.97 million on shipments of 573,146 carats, a 15.3 percent growth in volume.

This left Belgium’s net polished exports at 9,788 carats worth $212.29 million, about a tenth of the volume of net exports in February 2009, nearly flat in value.

The average value of gross exports stood at $1,501.47 per carat, a 23 percent margin over the average import price of $1,156.72 p/c.

The U.S. was the leading destination of Belgium’s gross exports, $254.83 million worth of goods, or 29.1 of total exports averaging $3,879.38 p/c. Hong Kong, however, was the leading destination of net exports, 58,275 carats worth $118.22 million carrying an average value of $2,028.61 p/c.