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Belgium Diamond Shipments Drop
Oct 22, 2019 3:51 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Belgium’s diamond trade slowed in September, continuing a
downward trend for the year. A 25% decline in polished exports reflected lower
volumes and a fall in the average price.
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Sep 2019 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished exports |
$873 |
-25% |
| Polished imports |
$860 |
-29% |
| Net polished exports |
$13 |
2018: Deficit of $40M |
| Rough imports |
$608 |
-24% |
| Rough exports |
$752 |
-22% |
| Net rough imports |
-$144 |
Deficit narrowed 7% |
| Net diamond account |
$156 |
37% |
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| Polished exports: volume |
341,862 carats |
-20% |
| Average price of polished exports |
$2,553/carat |
-6% |
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Jan-Sep 2019 |
Year-on-year change |
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| Polished exports |
$8,006 |
-10% |
| Polished imports |
$8,264 |
-8% |
| Net polished exports |
-$258 |
Deficit widened 71% |
| Rough imports |
$5,964 |
-28% |
| Rough exports |
$6,796 |
-29% |
| Net rough imports |
-$833 |
Deficit narrowed 38% |
| Net diamond account |
$575 |
-52% |
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| Polished exports: volume |
3.2 million carats |
-12% |
| Average price of polished exports |
$2,521/carat |
3% |
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| All numbers in millions of dollars unless stated otherwise. |
Source: Antwerp World Diamond Centre; Rapaport archives
About the data: Belgium is usually a net
exporter of polished diamonds. As such, net polished exports —
representing polished exports minus polished imports — will normally be a
positive number. The nation is also a net exporter of rough. While Antwerp is
home to some high-value manufacturing, its main role in the market is as a
facilitator of rough-diamond trading, with companies from around the world
coming to the city to buy rough. The net diamond account is
total rough and polished exports minus total imports. It is Belgium’s diamond
trade balance, and shows the added value the nation creates by exporting rough
or manufacturing it into polished.
Image: The Diamond Office in Antwerp. (Antwerp World Diamond Centre)
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Tags:
Antwerp, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, AWDC, Belgium, net diamond account, net polished exports, Net rough imports, polished exports, polished imports, Rapaport News, rough exports, rough imports, trade data
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