Antwerp Diamond Sector Contributes €500 mln to Belgian Foreign Trade

Antwerp’s diamond sector contributed about 70 percent of Belgium’s positive trade balance – €1.6 billion out of a total of € 2.3 billion, recent research found as well as an important employer. The research findings are published on the heels of yet another raid by police in the sector, contributing to the growing unease among traders, who are already shifting the bulk their business out of the country.

According to the research project by Prof. Dr. Joep Konings and Stijn Vanormelingen at the Catholic University of Louvain (KUL), Antwerp plays a critical role in the economies of Belgium, Flanders and the Province of Antwerp.

Among the findings of the research:

·        The Antwerp diamond sector continues to be a critical generator of both direct and indirect employment in the regional economies, providing more than 34,000 jobs;

·        The Antwerp diamond sector is a major source of revenue for the national economy, contributing about €500 million of the added value generated by Belgium’s foreign trade;

·        The Antwerp diamond sector is Belgium’s largest exporter to countries outside the European Community, claiming 14.3 percent of all non-EU exports.

“It is impossible to underestimate the importance of the diamond business,” said Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).

“From a national economic perspective we are a sector of vital strategic importance, and our government consequently should do all that it can to ensure that we are provided an optimal environment in which we can consolidate and improve our position within the international diamond trade.”