In May 2009, polished diamond exports from Belgium took a dip of 40 percent in May and amounted to $662.42 million, while in volume terms they fell 24 percent to 605,611.08 carats. Import of polished diamonds also slipped down by 48 percent to $506.86 million. Overall, the the net polished exports (polished exports less imports) saw a 28 percent increase amounting to $155.57 million. %% maximum of Belgium’s polished exports were received by the U.S. although the exports to the U.S. declined by 39 percent and valued at $253.83 million. Belgium’s exports to Hong Kong were down by 13 percent to $86.47 million, to Israel by 54 percent to $74 million and to Switzerland they fell by 69 percent to $26.9 million. %% The rough diamond account also saw a decline in imports by 58 percent amounting to $406.26 million. In volume terms, the imports were down by 43 percent and amounted to 5.3 million carats. Exports of rough diamonds dipped by 48 percent to $564.58 million and the net rough imports (rough imports less exports) slipped down by 22 percent to $158.32 million deficit. The country’s net diamond account increased by 24 percent to $313.89 million.