Sanctions Affecting Burmese Gems Trade
By Shah Paung January 22, 2008
The gems trade in Burma has slumped dramatically due to the sanctions imposed by the United States in December, according to gems and jade traders inside Burma and along the border areas.
A gems trader in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the gems market in Mae Sot has been very quiet since for about three months ago and since the New Year buyers have all but disappeared.
The gems and jade market in Mae Sot it still open for business, but vendors just spend all day sitting around waiting for buyers, he said, adding that only small-scale purchases are been made. “Before the sanctions, there were many buyers, including foreigners,” the trader said. “But now, if you want to see foreigners, you’ll have to go and watch a movie.” He added that gems and jades traders in Bangkok told him recently that the market is also down considerably in the Thai capital. He added that vendors at the Mae Sot gems market rely heavily on sales to Bangkok gem traders.
“I don’t know what to do now,” the Mae Sot trader said. “I think I’ll have to change jobs; if business goes on like this, I’ll have to quit.”
Meanwhile, residents in Mogok in central Burma—a center for rubies—also confirmed that their businesses were currently in a “wait and see” situation, relying heavily on cross-border trade.
According to sources, the downturn in the gems trade has also led to miners being laid off.
A gems trader at the China-Burma border, who mostly deals in private gems sales, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the gems market at the Chinese border was also quiet. He said that before, even on a slow day, the market was milling with buyers and that gemstones valued at only 1,000 Chinese yuan (US $138) would trade hands on a daily basis.
“But now only up large sales—between 10,000 yuan ($1,380) and 50,000 yuan ($6,900)—are taking place, and those are increasingly rare,” he said.
Traders in Rangoon said that they have not been able to sell many stones at the recent gems shows organized by the Burmese authorities.
According to the state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on Sunday, during the 24th Gems and Jade Sale in Rangoon from January 15 to 18, 2008, 357 lots of jade were sold and the event was attended by 737 local and 281 international gems and jade traders.
But the state media did not report, either in print or on television, the profits from the gems fair.
“Usually, they [the state media] would announce the amount of sales made and the income generated from the gems fair,” the trader in Mae Sot said. “But this time they didn’t. It’s obvious they didn’t sell much.”
In December, the US House of Representatives imposed sanctions against Burma’s multi-million dollar gemstone exports and the natural gas industry, as well as freezing the assets of certain military leaders, their families and business associates. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives hailed the sanctions legislation, called the “Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act.”
The act was aimed at preventing the Burmese military regime from “laundering” gemstones through third countries to avoid US sanctions and ended the tax write-offs enjoyed by US energy giant Chevron on revenues earned from its natural gas project in Burma.
In November, the European Union also threatened to prohibit the import of Burmese gemstones.
The Human Rights Watch group last week also called for a boycott of the latest Burmese gem shows.
The Burmese military government received about $300 million from the sale of gems during the fiscal year 2006-07, according to the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. The sale of Burmese jade is one of the country’s major sources of foreign exchange.
The gems trade in Burma has slumped dramatically due to the sanctions imposed by the United States in December, according to gems and jade traders inside Burma and along the border areas.
A gems trader in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the gems market in Mae Sot has been very quiet since for about three months ago and since the New Year buyers have all but disappeared.
The gems and jade market in Mae Sot it still open for business, but vendors just spend all day sitting around waiting for buyers, he said, adding that only small-scale purchases are been made. “Before the sanctions, there were many buyers, including foreigners,” the trader said. “But now, if you want to see foreigners, you’ll have to go and watch a movie.” He added that gems and jades traders in Bangkok told him recently that the market is also down considerably in the Thai capital. He added that vendors at the Mae Sot gems market rely heavily on sales to Bangkok gem traders.
“I don’t know what to do now,” the Mae Sot trader said. “I think I’ll have to change jobs; if business goes on like this, I’ll have to quit.”
Meanwhile, residents in Mogok in central Burma—a center for rubies—also confirmed that their businesses were currently in a “wait and see” situation, relying heavily on cross-border trade.
According to sources, the downturn in the gems trade has also led to miners being laid off.
A gems trader at the China-Burma border, who mostly deals in private gems sales, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the gems market at the Chinese border was also quiet. He said that before, even on a slow day, the market was milling with buyers and that gemstones valued at only 1,000 Chinese yuan (US $138) would trade hands on a daily basis.
“But now only up large sales—between 10,000 yuan ($1,380) and 50,000 yuan ($6,900)—are taking place, and those are increasingly rare,” he said.
Traders in Rangoon said that they have not been able to sell many stones at the recent gems shows organized by the Burmese authorities.
According to the state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on Sunday, during the 24th Gems and Jade Sale in Rangoon from January 15 to 18, 2008, 357 lots of jade were sold and the event was attended by 737 local and 281 international gems and jade traders.
But the state media did not report, either in print or on television, the profits from the gems fair.
“Usually, they [the state media] would announce the amount of sales made and the income generated from the gems fair,” the trader in Mae Sot said. “But this time they didn’t. It’s obvious they didn’t sell much.”
In December, the US House of Representatives imposed sanctions against Burma’s multi-million dollar gemstone exports and the natural gas industry, as well as freezing the assets of certain military leaders, their families and business associates. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives hailed the sanctions legislation, called the “Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act.”
The act was aimed at preventing the Burmese military regime from “laundering” gemstones through third countries to avoid US sanctions and ended the tax write-offs enjoyed by US energy giant Chevron on revenues earned from its natural gas project in Burma.
In November, the European Union also threatened to prohibit the import of Burmese gemstones.
The Human Rights Watch group last week also called for a boycott of the latest Burmese gem shows.
The Burmese military government received about $300 million from the sale of gems during the fiscal year 2006-07, according to the Myanmar Gems Enterprise. The sale of Burmese jade is one of the country’s major sources of foreign exchange.
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