According to AFNS, the global financial slowdown continued to impact on the Antwerp diamond industry in April, but figures have moderated as evidence mounts of rising demand for rough diamonds.



Alrosa announced that it was resuming the sale of rough diamonds to clients and the DTC’s May sight was estimated at over $250 million following several sights of $100 million.



The Antwerp Diamond Center announced that Belgian polished diamond exports fell by 28.6% to 575,076 carats last month, and declined by 45.7% to $599.4 million.



Polished diamond imports declined by 26.9% to 669,696 carats in April, and a 42.7% descent to $668.1 million.



Figures for the January-April period indicated slightly lower declines. Polished diamond exports dropped by 28% to 2.29 million carats, and by 38.3% to $2.63 billion.



Rough exports continued to tumble but at a more moderate rate than in previous months. In April there was a 17.9% fall to 9.96 million carats in April, while in financial terms there was a 36.8% decline to $609.8 million. In the first four months of the year, there was a 27.7% drop to 34.1 million carats, and a 57.9% drop to $1.70 billion.



In terms of export destinations, the United States was still in first place in January-April, although the amount of goods bought declined by around 30% and 41% in volume and financial terms respectively. The United States imported 278.4 million carats of polished diamonds valued at $626.1 million.



Hong Kong was again second on the list, with 449.8 million carats of Belgian exports valued at $534.9 million, and declines of 5.6% and 21.1% respectively.