Belgium Rough Trade Rises to $27.86 Billion in 2011

(IDEX Online News) – Belgium exported $14.42 billion worth of rough diamonds in 2011, a 31.2 percent increase, according to just released figures. The volume of exports has however declined 15.6 percent to 107.1 million carats.

Belgium’s rough diamond imports increased 41.9 percent to $13.43 billion, while the volume of imports declined 9.9 percent to 98.9 million carats, according to the AWDC.

The increase in value versus the decrease in volume resulted in a doubling in the average value of trade in 2011 compared to 2010 – about $135 p/c in 2011 compared with $86 p/c in 2010.

Total rough diamond trade in 2011 increased 36.1 percent to $27.86 billion.

The rough diamond sector suffered from a rollercoaster year in 2011. In the first half of 2011, demand and prices were very high, only to make a sharp downward turn in the second half of the year.

The value increase for the year indicates that overall prices were much higher than in the prior year, while the availability of goods was lower, as the volume of trade shows.