The first month of the new year saw a sharp rise in the import of rough diamonds into Antwerp, but exports of rough and the overall trade in polished continued to be sluggish in January 2020, according to figures released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).rnrnDuring the month, the centre exported nearly 7.67 million carats of rough at a value of US$ 690.63 million. This represented a year-on-year decline of 5.36% in terms of volume and a 7.27% drop in terms of value. However, there was a reversal in the prolonged slowdown that rough diamond imports had witnessed for much of the previous year, with the trade increasing by 42.82% in volume terms and by 14.18% in value terms – with 8.10 mn carats of rough being imported at US$ 829.50 million – as compared to a year earlier.rnrnTrade in polished continued to remain depressed with the dip continuing in the first month of 2020. Exports totalled 299,467 cts of polished at a value of US$ 605.44 million, a drop of 5.70% in volume terms, and of 22.06% in value terms year-on-year. During the month, the centre imported 449,918 cts of polished at a value of US$ 750.39 million, registering a drop of 22.93% in volume terms and 20.48% in value terms as compared to January 2019.