July continued to mark a stable month for the Antwerp diamond sector. A modest decrease was only seen in in the volume of imported polished diamonds, compared to July 2013.

The rough diamond trade continues to fare well. In comparison with July of last year, the volume of exported diamonds rose by 1,22%, which translates to a volume increase of 16,37%. In terms of imports, we noticed a volume upturn of 7,72%, amounting to a surge of 19,84% in value. These strong value increases were the result of the currently strong rough prices. Polished figures were also encouraging. The volume of exported goods rose by 8,51% compared with the same month of last year. These goods left mainly to Hong Kong, UAE and the United States. In value terms, an increase of 4,47% was observed as compared to July 2013.

By contrast, the volume of imported polished diamonds fell by 5,24% as compared with the same month of last year. The value increase of 9,21% implies that fewer but more expensive goods became available on the Antwerp market. These stones originated to a large extent from India, Hong Kong and UAE.

When comparing the first seven months of 2014 to the same period last year, we see a slight decline in the volume of polished diamonds traded, with increases in all other trade figures.

AWDC, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, is an industry-established foundation, whose mission is to serve and support the diamond business in Antwerp, the world's most important diamond trade hub. AWDC is the coordinating body and the official representative of the Antwerp diamond sector, and as such is recognized internationally as the host, spokesperson and intermediary for the Belgian diamond community. In this capacity, AWDC liaises on behalf of the Belgian diamond sector with governments and actively promotes support for the diamond sector at home and abroad.

84% of all rough diamonds and 50% of all polished diamonds pass through Antwerp. Diamonds represent 5% of the total Belgian exports and 15% of all Belgian exports outside the EU, making diamonds the most important export product outside the EU.