According to the Antwerp World Diamond Center, polished diamond exports from Belgium in December rose by 2.5% year-on-year to $ 1.086 billion, Rapaport News reported. In terms of volume, exports fell by 8.3%, to 512,830 carats. Imports of polished diamonds increased by 6.2%, to $ 922.7 million, as a result of which their net exports decreased by 14.3%, to $ 163.3 million.
Belgian rough imports fell 4.8% to $ 1.032 billion in December, while diamond exports fell 8.9% to $ 1.217 billion, resulting in a net deficit of $ 184.4 million, from $ 250.4 million a year earlier. The balance of diamond trade, reflecting the difference between net imports and exports, decreased by 21.1%, to $ 347.7 million
In 2014, polished exports from Belgium increased by 3.9% year-on-year to $ 14.417 billion, while polished imports grew 4% to $ 13.817 billion; respectively, net exports increased by 1.6% to $ 600.1 million. Belgian rough diamond imports jumped 12.7% to $ 14.911 billion, while diamond exports rose 7% to $ 15.656 billion, and the net import of diamonds fell 46.7%, to a deficit of $ 744.8 million dollars. The balance of the diamond trade of Belgium in 2014 decreased by 32.3% year on year, to 1.345 billion dollars.