U.S. polished diamond imports for the month of January rose 25 percent year on year to $1.59 billion. Polished diamond exports surged 39 percent to $1.26 billion, the largest amount to be produced since July 2008. Net polished diamond imports for January dropped 8 percent to $326 million.
Rough diamond imports jumped 19 percent to $56 million and rough exports more than doubled to $34 million. Net rough imports dropped 29 percent to $22 million.
The U.S. net diamond account for January, which reflects combined net polished and net rough imports, dropped 10 percent to $348 million.
Belgium’s Polished Exports Up
Belgium’s polished diamond exports rose 25 percent year on year to $812.4 million during the month of January, while polished imports jumped 33 percent to $980.3 million, resulting in a net polished deficit of $167.9 million compared with the deficit of $88.9 million posted one year ago.
Rough diamond imports to Belgium were up 38 percent to $1.05 billion and rough exports increased 27 percent to $1.04 billion, yielding net imports of $16 million compared with last year’s deficit of $53 million. Belgium’s net diamond account for January, reflecting the difference between net polished exports and rough diamond imports, recorded a deficit of $183.9 million versus a deficit of $36 million in January 2009.
For the month of February, Belgium’s polished diamond exports rose 51 percent year over year to $1.32 billion and polished imports increased 33 percent to $885 million, giving Belgium net polished exports of $432 million, compared with $212.3 million one year ago.
Rough diamond imports surged 35 percent to $1.05 billion and rough exports jumped 26 percent to $1.14 billion for a rough import deficit of $84 million compared with the deficit of $122 million incurred one year ago. Belgium’s net diamond account for February, reflecting a surge in polished exports to Hong Kong, climbed 54 percent to $516 million.
During the first two months of calendar year 2011, Belgium recorded $2.13 billion worth of polished exports, an annual increase of 40 percent, and $1.87 billion in polished exports, representing a gain of 33 percent. Rough imports rose 37 percent to $2.1 billion and rough exports increased 26 percent to $2.17 billion, leaving a net diamond account of $331 million, level with last year.
Hong Kong’s Imports Rise
Hong Kong’s polished diamond imports rose 31 percent year on year to $3.49 billion during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to data published by the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China Limited. By volume, polished imports grew 15 percent to 7.289 million carats as the average price of the imports increased 14 percent to $478.86 per carat. Polished exports rose 33 percent to $2.7 billion and net polished imports, representing the excess of imports over exports, increased 27 percent to $786 million.
Hong Kong’s rough imports grew 32 percent to $305.3 million during the quarter, while rough exports increased 30 percent to $295.9 million. Net rough imports, the excess of imports over exports, jumped to $9.3 million from the $2.7 million posted for the previous year. Hong Kong’s net diamond account, representing total polished and rough imports less total exports, rose 28 percent to $795.3 million.
For the full calendar year, polished imports grew 39 percent to $13.51 billion, while polished exports rose 41 percent to $10 billion. Net polished imports increased 36 percent to approximately $3.50 billion. Rough imports grew 19 percent to $1.14 billion during the year, and rough exports rose 17 percent to $1.13 billion. Net rough imports were measured as a surplus of $8 million from a deficit of $11.4 million in 2009. Hong Kong’s 2010 net diamond account grew 37 percent to $3.51 billion.
Japan’s Polished Imports Grow
Japan’s polished diamond imports rose 44 percent year on year to $72.4 million in January 2011, based on data sourced from Momozawa & Co., which publishes data from Japan’s Custom Bureau at the Ministry of Finance. By volume, polished imports increased 29 percent to 243,567 carats, while the average price of the diamonds grew 12 percent to $297 per carat. Japan’s polished imports from India increased by 46 percent to $33.1 million, while those from Belgium grew just 1 percent to $11 million and those from Israel increased 32 percent to $5.8 million.
Imports from Hong Kong rose 50 percent to $5 million. Japan’s gold jewelry imports were up by 20 percent to $47.2 million during the month and platinum jewelry imports increased by 3 percent to $32.4 million.
Botswana’s Diamond Exports Gain
Botswana’s diamond exports rose 40 percent year on year to $354.3 million (BWP 2.35 billion) in January 2011, according to data published by the Bank of Botswana (BoB). The bank’s data is a representative sample of the country’s full diamond trade and is sourced from the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB), two of 16 manufacturing units in the country and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Gemfields’ Revenue Hits $29 Million
Gemfields reported that revenue from rough and polished emerald sales soared 140 percent year on year to $29 million for its first fiscal half of 2011 that ended on December 31, 2010. The mining company also recovered a profit of $15.5 million versus the loss of $5.8 million recorded one year ago and reported that all bank loans and leases have been repaid, leaving Gemfields debt free. The company’s cash position also improved to $15.5 million versus $7.6 million during the same period in 2009.
Gemstone’s production at the Kagem mine totaled 18.7 million carats during the first fiscal half, exceeding the entire previous year’s production of 17.4 million carats. There was also an increase in the per-carat prices achieved as a result of the continuing increase in demand for ethically supplied emeralds across all markets. The grade of 527 carats per hundred tons (cpht) generated for the period is also significantly above the average of 351 cpht recorded over the last five years. Unit production costs were approximately 35 cents per carat versus the historic average of 64 cents per carat.
Some other developments during this period included restarting diamond core drilling and bulk sampling on key targets within the Kagem licensed area; CCTV security system upgrades at various key sites and the Indian “Emeralds for Elephants” marketing initiative launched in conjunction with the World Land Trust and Gemfields’ “Uniquely You” emerald advertising campaign.
Ian Harebottle, chief executive officer (CEO) of Gemfields, commented, “Gemfields has enjoyed an excellent six-month period in which our output from the Kagem mine exceeded the entire prior year’s production. In addition, we are seeing a significant increase in global demand for Gemfields’ ability to provide a consistent supply of well-graded and ethically sourced emeralds, as is clearly demonstrated by the record sales of $19.6 million achieved at the December 2010 auction.”
He added that he expects second-half revenues to be derived from the lower-grade auction that was, at press time, to be held at the end of March.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2011. To subscribe click here.