Belgium may polished diamond exports 12%

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Belgium may polished diamond exports 12%
Belgium's polished diamond exports in May increased 12 percent in value from 2005 to $906.3 million, according to figures released by HRD diamond office on June 14.The value of Belgium’s polished imports increased 9 percent to $732.7 million.In quantity terms, Belgium’s polished diamond exports remained flat at 825,139 carats. Belgium imported 822,300 polished carats in May, a decrease of 6 percent.Belgium did not offer statistics on rough.Year-to-date Belgium’s polished exports rose 9 percent to $4 billion in value and declined 7 percent to 3.8 million carats in volume, compared with January through May of 2005. For the five month period, Belgium’s polished imports increased 10 percent to $3.9 billion in value and decreased 8 percent to 4 million carats in volume.Year-to-date Belgium’s exports to the United States increased 11 percent to $1.3 billion, polished diamonds to Hong Kong climbed 16 percent to $564.5 million, and to Israel exports increased 11 percent to $516.2 million.The higher value of exports combined with a minimal decrease in quantity resulted in a 13 percent increase in the price per carat of Belgium's polished diamond exports to $1,098 per carat in May. The average price per carat of Belgium's polished imports increased 16 percent to $967 per carat.