HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s polished diamond imports rose 8.5 percent year on year to $19.592 billion in 2014, according to the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China Ltd. Trading volume slipped 4.3 percent to 20.11 million carats. Polished exports (together with re-exports) jumped 12.8 percent to $13.744 billion, leaving net imports flat at $5.848 billion.
Rough diamond imports increased 12.8 percent year on year to $2.179 billion in 2014. However, trading volume slumped 35.2 percent to 13.8 million carats. Rough exports, combined with re-exports, declined 9.2 percent to $2.311 billion, leaving net imports with a deficit of $132 million compared with a deficit of $614 million in 2013.
In all, Hong Kong’s net diamond account, representing the value of imports over exports, rose 8.9 percent to $5.716 billion in 2014.