Belgian polished exports in April rose 23% year-on-year to $ 1.157 billion, Rapaport reported citing statistics from the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC). At the same time, the volume of exports for the reporting month fell by 9% compared to April 2012, amounting to 533 18.25 carats of diamonds, and the average price of exported products jumped 36% to $ 2,170.60 per carat.
Belgian polished imports rose 8% to $ 1.009 billion. Net polished exports (the difference in exports and imports) rose sharply to $ 147 million from $ 11.5 million a year earlier.
Belgian imports of rough diamonds rose 38% to $ 1.422 billion in April, while raw material exports increased by 28% to $ 1.528 billion. Belgian net imports of rough diamonds remained negative at $ 105 million as compared to a deficit of $ 167 million in registered in April 2012.
The Belgian net diamond account (the difference in aggregate exports and imports of diamonds and diamonds) in April rose 42% year-on-year to $ 253 million.
In the first four months of 2013, Belgium's polished exports remained stable at $ 4.506 billion, while polished imports declined by 9 % to $ 4.227 billion. The total export of polished diamonds rose to $ 278.66 million, compared with a negative figure of $ 129.17 million in the same period last year.