Antwerp Posts Higher Diamond Trade Volumes for First Half of 2026
Rapaport covers AWDC's half-year statistics for Antwerp's rough and polished trade, showing diverging volume and value trends. Full figures at the source.
Read original on RapaportExecutive Summary
AWDC has published Antwerp's trade figures for the first half of 2026, showing growth in combined import-export activity alongside notable shifts in sourcing countries and in the balance between rough and polished flows. Recommended reading for traders weighing where to route goods in the second half.
Industry Impact
Half-year hub statistics matter less for the headline totals and more for what they say about routing decisions across the pipeline. When volume grows faster than value, the mix is shifting toward cheaper goods — a pattern consistent with manufacturers restocking commercial categories rather than chasing large stones. For Israeli traders, Antwerp's momentum is also a competitive signal: Ramat Gan, Dubai and Mumbai compete for the same transit flows, and G7 traceability rules that run through Antwerp's verification node keep pulling compliant goods toward Belgium. Watching which origin countries grew fastest tells you where next quarter's rough is entering the market.
Next Steps
- Compare your own H1 routing costs against an Antwerp-based flow, including compliance handling.
- Track which origin countries drove Antwerp's growth and align sourcing conversations accordingly.
- If you trade polished into Europe, test whether Antwerp clearance now shortens your G7-documentation cycle.
- Revisit Dubai-vs-Antwerp routing for mixed parcels ahead of the September show season.
- Set a reminder for the Q3 AWDC release to confirm whether the volume trend holds.