Diamond trading in and out of Belgium grew by most key measures in November, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released recently.
Polished-diamond exports jumped 11% year on year to $971 million, the AWDC’s figures showed. By volume, exports slid 13% to 392,107 carats, with the average price rising 27% to $2,476 per carat. Polished imports increased 27% to $880.7 million, leaving net polished exports — calculated as exports minus imports — 51% lower at $90.3 million.
While Belgium’s rough imports dropped 13% to $985.7 million, rough exports increased 22% to $1.28 billion, leaving net rough imports at negative $297.9 million versus positive $87 million a year ago. The nation’s net diamond account for the month, representing total rough and polished exports minus total imports, soared to $388.2 million from $96.2 million a year ago.
In the January-to-November period, polished exports declined 5% year on year to $10.47 billion, with polished imports falling 4% to $10.3 billion. Net polished exports for the period slumped 37% to $174.3 million.
Rough imports fell 12% to $9.96 billion for those 11 months, while rough exports slipped 1.5% to $11.42 billion. Net rough imports stood at negative $1.46 billion, compared with negative $273.7 million a year before. The net diamond account more than doubled to $1.63 billion from $549.5 million.
