YEREVAN. - The export of polished diamonds has continued growing since the beginning of 2016, as per the report of the Customs Service of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia for the first quarter of 2016.

If in the first quarter of 2015, Armenia exported 299,000 carat diamonds amounting to $29.7 mln USD, in the analogous period of 2016 that figure rose to 69.5 mln carat amounting to $45 mln.

In particular, the export to Russia, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) increased (from $1.6 to $9.85 to Russia, from $730,000 to 6.86 mln to Emirates).

The export to Belgium remained the same (Belgian Antwerp is one of the world centers of diamond trade). The indices for the first quarter of 2015 and 2016 made up $15.58 and $15,76 mln respectively.

The export to the U.S. rose from $2,14 to $3,05 mln.

During the reporting period, the diamonds for polishing were imported mainly from Russia, Belgium and UAE, and in small amounts from India, Switzerland and Republic of South Africa (RSA).