Belgium’s 2015 Polished Diamond Exports -9%

Feb 2, 2016 7:52 AM By Rapaport News

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RAPAPORT... Belgium’s polished diamond exports dropped 9.4 percent to $13.07 billion in 2015 as the global trade “took a beating” during the year, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). By volume, exports fell 7.1 percent to 6 million carats, while the average price dipped 2.4 percent to $2,251 per carat.

Among Belgium’s main trading partners, polished exports to the U.S. declined 9.5 percent to $3.59 billion and to Hong Kong exports slid by 2.7 percent to $3.46 billion. Exports to Israel slumped 23 percent to $1.25 billion and shipments to India dived 27 percent to $476.7 million.

“The global diamond industry took a beating this year,” AWDC chief executive officer Ari Epstein said in a statement February 1. “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. Antwerp will consequently emerge from this downturn in a position of strength, poised for a profitable year ahead.”

Total polished imports to Belgium declined 8.4 percent to $12.65 billion during the year as net polished exports, representing exports minus imports, dived 31 percent to $415.8 million.

Rough imports slumped 25 percent to $11.13 billion and rough exports declined 27 percent to $11.5 billion. Net rough imports, representing imports minus exports, went from negative $744.3 million to negative $371.6 million during the year.

Belgium’s 2015 net diamond account, representing total polished and rough exports minus total imports, declined 41 percent to $787.4 million. The net diamond account represents the estimated value addition that the diamond trade provided the country's economy.

During December, polished exports declined 8.3 percent to $995.3 million, while polished imports fell 11 percent to $819.6 million. Rough imports fell 18 percent to $844.7 million, while rough exports dropped 9.5 percent to $1.1 billion. Belgium’s net diamond account grew 24 percent to $430.5 million during the month.

Tags: Antwerp, AWDC, diamonds, Jewelry, Rapaport News