The Belgium diamond industry has witnessed a dip in volume of polished diamond exports for the first six months of 2008. In the said six-month period, Belgium exported 4.68 million carats of polished diamonds worth $6.53 billion, while in the same period last year it exported 4.76 million carats worth $5.28 billion of polished diamonds. This has shown a 23.6 percent increase in value, but a 1.8 percent decrease in volume.

Its import of rough diamonds for the six months this year amounted to 59,921,430 carats valued at $5.87 billion, from 66,331,575 carats worth $5.02 billion in the first half of last year. The fall in volume was 9.7 percent, although these imports increased in value by 16.8 percent. Exports of 69,424,409 carats of rough worth $6.32 billion, were lower by 2.5 percent in weight but higher by 11.3 percent in value, as compared to first half of 2007 - 71,213,929 carats of roughs exported worth $5.67 billion.

Polished imports for the said term accounted for 5,319,477 carats worth $6.42 billion, a 6.5 percent rise in volume and a 28.6 percent rise in value.

In June, Belgium’s polished imports showed a contridictory behaviour to the six months, wherein the value of imports decreased and the volume increased - 25.3 percent higher at 809,765 carats, and 8.2 percent lower at $1.22 billion. It exported 706,605 carats of polished diamonds worth $1.16 billion, a 19.9 percent increase in value terms, but a decline of 13.7 percent in volume, as reported by Antwerp Facets News Service.