Special gem emporium opens in Myanmar's biggest city

Special gem emporium opens in Myanmar's biggest city
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-22 13:42:30

YANGON, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A special gem show opened here Monday, putting on sale the country's quality gems, jade, pearl and jewelry on the basis of tender and competitive bidding.

The special Myanmar gems emporium, which lasts for 13 days until July 4, is taking place at Myanmar Convention Center (MCC).

In the last 46th annual gems emporium held in March this year, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth gems and jewelry were sold out.

The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders, mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.

In June-July and October last year, a special gem sale and a mid-year sale were respectively added, attracting even more merchants than the annual regular event.

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.

The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the development of the gem industry.

According to the Central Statistical Organization, in 2008, Myanmar produced 30,896.44 tons of jade and 20.5 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 204,533 mommis (767 kilograms) of pearl.