Some Relief for Belgian Polished Trade After Tough Year

(IDEX Online News) – Belgium's polished diamond trade may have started to rebound in November. Polished diamond exports totaled $1.15 billion, an increase of 9.2 percent compared to October. The annual trend, however, is still negative.

Compared to November 2011, polished diamond exports fell 7.8 percent. This downward trend has been evident since April, based on figures published by the AWDC.

The volume of exports declined to 562,723 carats, a drop of 6.4 percent compared to October and 11.7 percent year-over-year.

One important statistic is the average value of exports, which shot up 16.7 percent to $2,050.29 per carat (p/c) in November. This figure is similar to the difference between the average value of imports and exports – 16.4 percent.

As 2012 draws to a close, it is clear that Antwerp's diamond center suffered from a decline in trade this year. In the first 11 months of the year, exports declined 9.1 percent to $12.21 billion while imports dropped 6.2 percent to $12.13 billion.

Belgium's leading export destinations are the U.S., Hong Kong and Israel. Its leading import sources are the U.S., India and Hong Kong.

Source: AWDC