The Antwerp Would Diamond Centre (AWDC) has criticized a recent press release from the National Bank of Belgium (NBB), stating that it presented a “highly misleading” view of the nation’s diamond industry.
The NBB release reported that the country’s diamond imports and exports have fallen 50% since 2014, to reach $8.5 billion in 2023. However, that amount “completely misrepresents the situation,” AWDC said last week.
The NBB figure differs from that of the country’s Diamond Office — considered the official control department for diamond imports and exports in Belgium and the only body in “possession of the correct figures” — AWDC stressed. The figure from the Diamond Office is $27.8 billion, more than three times higher than the bank’s total, the organization added.
“These NBB figures are a misinterpretation of reality,” the AWDC said. “The issue, and the biggest mistake, is that the NBB’s numbers represent net purchases and sales by Belgian diamond companies, not the actual import and export value. In the diamond industry, goods are often imported and re-exported without an immediate sale, which explains why the NBB’s figures are significantly lower than the real numbers.”
Image: The trading floor at the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. (AWDC)
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