New Delhi (Mizzima) – The annual Burmese Gem Emporium held each November has been cancelled, said an official from the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. This year, successful gem sales were held in March and July.
The official declined to say why the gem sale was cancelled, but traders said some gem traders from foreign countries had not made full payment.
“For gems sold in the previous gem emporium, less than half of the money has come in. The traders in foreign countries have not made full payment,” said a gem trader from Mandalay who sold jade in the emporium in July.
In May, the Chinese government increased the tax on gems from Burma from 10 percent to 30 percent, and the demand from Chinese traders is falling, according to traders.
In the gem emporiums, buyers must make a partial payment upon purchase and make the total payment within three months.
A record value of US$ 2.8 billion in gems was sold during the emporium held in March. In the emporium in July, US$ 1.5 billion in gems were sold.
Traders said China’s gem traders couldn’t buy Burmese gems at competitive prices because of the increased tax rate. Moreover, because of the strong kyat, gem traders said they are placed at a disadvantage.
“There is no gem market as large as China’s gem market. We have to rely on it. We cannot rely on other markets. If they do not buy, the jade trade will be dull,” said a gem-mining businessman in Mandalay.
In Burma’s gem emporiums, jade is the most purchased item. On average, a total of about 5,000 gem traders from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea visit the gem emporiums each year. Most of the visitors are Chinese.
After the former Burmese junta suppressed the 2007 Saffron Revolution in September 2008, the U.S. enacted the legislation - JADE Act of 2008 - banning the import of gems from Burma.
Since 1964, the Ministry of Mines has held a gem emporium each year. From 1992 to 2003, two gem emporiums were held each year. Since 2004, three gem emporiums are held annually.
The first gem emporiums were held in the Inya Lake Hotel in Rangoon. Since 1993, emporiums were held in Rangoon at the gem museum on Kabaaye Pagoda Road and the Convention Center on Min Dhama Road. Starting in November 2010, the Maniyadanar Hall in Naypyitaw has hosted the gem emporiums.
