Belgium's net diamond account for January-May rose 78.3 percent year on year to $640 million.
Belgium’s polished diamond exports in May rose 7.7% on the year in May to $1.27 billion. The average price per carat increased by 12.5% to $1,193.
Meanwhile, polished imports in May jumped by 27.9 percent to $1.314 billion, leading to a deficit of $43 million in net polished diamond exports compared with $154 million in May 2012.
In rough diamond imports in May, there was a 5.4% decline to $1.051 billion, while rough exports increased by 6.1% to $1.221 billion. As a result, Belgium recorded a deficit in rough imports of $170 million compared with $40 million in May last year.
Belgium's net diamond account for May, reflecting the net difference between exports and imports, plummeted to a deficit of $3 million compared with a surplus of $194 million one year ago, Rapaport News reported.
During the first five months of 2013, Belgium has exported $5.778 billion worth of polished diamonds, up 1.4 percent year-on-year, while polished imports have fallen 2.3 percent to $5.542 billion.
Net exports of polished diamonds totaled $236 million compared with only $24 million for the same period in 2012.
Rough imports of $5.929 billion during the first five months reflected a 5.5 percent year on year increase.
Belgium's net diamond account for the January through May period improved 78.3 percent year on year to $640 million.
