Belgium's polished diamond exports for December 2010 were up by 6.8% year-on-year by volume and 31% by value – totaling 734,436 carats worth $1.02 billion, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reports.

The year 2010 as a whole saw a 7.1% rise from 2009 in polished exports by volume (7.79 million carats) and a 28.6% rise in value to $11.1 billion.

In December 2010, Belgium's diamond industry imported 659,915 carats of polished diamonds worth $800.4 million, 17% more by volume than in the corresponding month of 2009 and 24.9% more by value. Polished diamond imports for all of 2010 were up 10.2% from 2009 and totaled 8.10 million carats valued at $10.3 billion.



Belgium's rough diamond exports for December 2010 decreased in volume by 4.2% year-on-year but jumped in terms of value to $1.14 billion – a 33.5% increase. For the entire year of 2010, rough diamond exports were up 31.4% by volume and 48.5% by value.

December also saw increased imports of rough diamonds, with Belgium bringing in 9.27 million carats with a value of $706.5 million, increases of 41.2% and 46.1% from December 2009. For all of 2010, Belgium's rough diamond imports were up 28.3% by volume (109.8 million carats) and 48.7% by value, comprising $9.47 billion.