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RAPAPORT… Belgium’s polished-diamond exports jumped 50% year on year to $941 million in October, the highest since May 2019, as the market improved ahead of the holidays. The increase for the month was the country’s eighth in a row, according to Rapaport calculations based on recent data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).
Belgium Trade Data for October 2021
| October 2021 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $941M | 50% |
| Polished imports | $725M | 45% |
| Net polished exports | $217M | 66% |
| Rough imports | $968M | 11% |
| Rough exports | $808M | -16% |
| Net rough imports | $159M | 2020: Deficit of $82M |
| Net diamond account | $57M | -73% |
| Polished exports (volume) | 359,106 carats | 21% |
| Average price of polished exports | $2,621/carat | 24% |
| January-October 2021 | Year-on-year change | |
| Polished exports | $6.39B | 40% |
| Polished imports | $6.32B | 41% |
| Net polished exports | $71M | -14% |
| Rough imports | $8.76B | 66% |
| Rough exports | $9.04B | 81% |
| Net rough imports | -$281M | 2020: Surplus of $274M |
| Net diamond account | $352M | 2020: Deficit of $192M |
| Polished exports (volume) | 3 million carats | 39% |
| Average price of polished exports | $2,117/carat | 0% |
Sources: Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC); 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 has historically been a net importer of rough,
though in recent years, it has often been a net rough exporter. While Antwerp
is still 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: Polished diamonds. (Antwerp World Diamond Centre)
