Dubai’s Rough and Polished Diamond Trade Doubles in H1

(IDEX Online News) - Dubai’s gross polished diamond imports grew 116 percent to $6.44 billion in the first half of 2010, while polished diamond exports rose 123 percent to $6.78 billion, the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) announced today (Wednesday).

The volume of polished diamond imports during the six month period was 43.79 million carats, a 165 percent increase compared to the first half of 2009. Net polished imports increased by 7.47 million carats.

The volume of Dubai’s diamond trade reached a record 131 million carats, rising 81.9 percent from last year.

Rough diamond imports doubled to $1.43 billion year over year, with traders importing 24.15 million carats, up 34 percent from last year’s 15.72 million carats.

Exports of rough diamonds totaled $1.67 billion, increasing 96 percent compared to the first half of 2009.

The numbers are provided by the Dubai Customs Strategy and Corporate Excellence Department Statistics Section for import and export data, the DDE said.

Dubai’s diamond trade was mainly driven by India, Belgium and Switzerland, with growing trade emerging from new markets such as Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“This significant achievement, despite the global economic challenges, is testimony to Dubai’s resilience,” said DMMC Executive Chairman Ahmed bin Sulayem.

According to DDE Chairman Peter Meeus, “The Dubai Diamond Exchange continues to develop strong relations with other members of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and its new approved members to capitalize on the present synergies between the exchanges.”