Gem Traders Hit by Poor Sales

By LAWI WENG

Hundreds of Chinese buyers are attending a four-day gem sale from December 3-6 at Ruile on the Chinese border, but only a few have made official purchases, gem traders said on Thursday.

A Burmese gem trader who lives in Ruile said, “They just came, asked about the prices, and left.”
However, another gem trader said purchases were made by buyers from Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but they made their deals outside the official exhibition area to avoid paying a 5 percent tax to local Chinese authorities.

Most of the gem stones were illegally imported from Burma’s Kachin State in northern Burma, said Aung Kyaw Zaw, a local resident. The Chinese authorities in Ruile allowed the dealers to exhibit and sell in exchange for the tax, he said.

Many gem traders complained that that they might not be able to cover the cost of exhibition space, about 3,000 yuan (US $486). This was the first such gem exhibition and sale in Ruile organized by Chinese businessmen, traders said.

The Burmese gem market has been hit by the global financial crisis and sales inside Burma have also been weaker than normal, traders said.

Burmese residents on the China-Burma border said many private gem companies in Hpakant Township in Kachin State have suspended mining operations because of the poor sales.