Rough diamond exports from Antwerp dropped by a significant 29.13% during the month of October 2016, while polished diamond exports fell by 16.72% during the month as compared to a year earlier, according to figures released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).

During the month, Antwerp exported nearly 5.94 million carats of rough at a value of US$ 721.11 million, a 32.46% decline in terms of volumes, and a 29.13% fall in value terms. On the other hand, the centre reported a rise in rough imports – with 8.7 mn carats of rough being imported at US$ 897.44 million, an increase of 10.79% in volume, but a decline of 6.84% in value terms.

Trade in polished too followed a similar pattern of increased volumes of imports at lower value and a decline in exports as compared to a year ago. In October, 424,581 cts were exported at a value of US$ 775.16 mn, a drop of 12.58% in volume terms and 16.72% in value terms year-on-year. During this period, the centre imported 596,676 cts of polished at a value of US$ 795.95 mn, with volume showing a 16.87% increase, but value declining by 9.55% as compared to October 2015.

For the year-to-date, rough exports totalled 86.88 mn carats at a value of US$ 10.54 bn, up 9.49% and 8.10% in volume and value terms respectively as compared to last year. Polished exports remained sluggish at 4.59 mn cts with a value of US$ 10.11 bn, declining by 9.92% and 9.35% year-on-year.