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France 24
France 24
Politics
Alix LE BOURDON

Low-wage competition rocks Antwerp's diamond sector

For decades, the Belgian city of Antwerp has had a near-monopoly over the world's diamond market. But amid international competition and the onslaught of e-commerce, Antwerp is seeing its position weaken. It has only 500 stonecutters today, compared to 40,000 in the 1970s, and has lost nearly 200 diamond merchants in less than seven years. Our Belgium correspondents report.

A programme prepared by Patrick Lovett and Gaëlle Essoo.

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