There has been a five per cent rise in diamond importation in 2016. A total of US$48 billion worth of diamonds (202 million carats of rough and polished diamonds) were imported to and exported from Antwerp.
There has also been a seven per cent decline in the imported polish diamond market and a nine per cent decrease in export volume, according to The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).
“2016 was a good year, but the future is looking very good,” says Ari Epstein, CEO of AWDC. “Commercial production started recently at the Renard Mine and Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada, as well as the Liqhobong Mine is Lesotho, and 100 per cent of the sales of these goods will take place in Antwerp. We expect these productions to deliver an additional seven million carats onto the market in 2017. Antwerp’s prospects are promising indeed.”
