Antwerp Polished Diamond Exports -9% in 2015
February 03, 16
(IDEX Online News) – Recently released figures from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre show that exports of polished diamonds decreased 9 percent year-over-year in 2015.
Antwerp exported almost 6 million carats of diamonds with a value of $13.1 billion in 2015 compared to 6.4 million carats with a value of $14.4 billion in 2014 – representing a 7-percent and 9-percent decline respectively. The volume of exported polished diamonds fell from 513,000 carats in December 2014 to 472,000 in December 2015 – a 7-percent decline. The value of exported polished diamonds also dropped in December to $995 million compared to $1.1 billion in December 2014.
Year-over-year rough diamond exports slumped 16 percent by volume and 27 percent by value in 2015. Antwerp exported 96.1 million carats of diamonds in 2015 compared to 114.4 million in 2014. By value, rough exports totaled $11.5 billion in 2015 compared to $15.6 billion the year previously.
The volume of exported rough diamonds increased in December, rising 16.6 percent to 11.55 million carats compared to 9.9 million carats in December 2014. Exports by value dropped 10 percent to $1.1 billion, having fallen from $1.2 billion in December 2014.
Rough and polished diamond imports by volume and value were also down, falling 6 percent to 25 percent from the 2014 figures. Polished imports for example, totaled $12.7 billion in 2015 compared to $13.8 billion in 2014.
“The global diamond industry took a beating this year. Thanks to our strong foundations and ability to be agile and adopt innovative new technologies, Antwerp has succeeded in safeguarding its world-leading position with regard to rough as well as polished diamonds,” said AWDC CEO Ari Epstein.