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Around 3,000 foreign merchants attends Myanmar gems emporium
11/3/2008 16:47

Around 3,000 foreign merchants from 20 countries and regions have arrived in Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon to attend the ongoing annual Myanmar gems emporium where quality local gems, jade, pearl and jewelry are being sold on the basis of tender and competitive bidding, emporium organizer told Xinhua today.
Most of the gem traders will deal with purchase of jade under the system designated today at the emporium which started on Sunday with the sale of pearl and jewelry, the organizer said.
The 45th Annual Gems Emporium taking place at the Myanma Gems Emporium Hall and the Convention Center until March 20 put over 7, 000 lots of jade, about 300 lots of gems and 270 lots of pearl on sale, he also said, adding that the highest floor price of a 30- kilogram jade block on show worth 2.38 million euros.
In the 44th annual Myanmar gems emporium held in March last year, 3,652 lots of jade, gems and pearl were sold out, gaining 148 million euros, according to then official statistics.
Again in a mid-year gems emporium in November the same year, which was the 16th, a total of 3,618 lots of jade, gems and pearls worth US$150 million were sold. according to the emporium sources. The event was participated by a total of 3,616 merchants including 2,285 of 1,584 companies from 16 countries and regions covering China, Thailand, Singapore, India, Italy, Britain, Japan, Australia, the United States and Canada.
Myanmar started to hold gem shows annually in 1964, introducing the mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.
According to the state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise, of the country's top 10 exporters for the fiscal year 2006-07 which were dominated by the state sector, the MGE stood the third with a gem sale value of US$296.9 million after Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and the Myanmar Timber Enterprise.
The government's Central Statistical Organization revealed that in 2006-07, Myanmar produced 20,458 tons of jade and 20.879 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 240,595 mommis (902 kilograms) of pearl.
The latest figures also indicate that the country yielded 10, 422 tons of jade and 12.354 million carats of gems as well as 62, 904 mommis (235.89 kilograms) of pearl in the first half (April- September) of 2007-08.


Xinhua