INDONESIA STRIVES TO BECOME WORLD'S LARGEST SUPPLIER OF PEARLS by Fardah

  Jakarta, Sept 13, 2013 (Antara) - Indonesia will once again hold the Indonesia Pearls Festival (IPF) in Jakarta from October 2 to 6, 2013, to promote the country's potential as one of the largest suppliers of pearls in the world.

        The international festival will be the third and jointly organised by Indonesia¿s Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (MMAF) and the Indonesian Cultured Pearls Association (Asbumi).

         This year, the festival's theme is "Hidden Treasure of Papua." Papua is Indonesia's eastern most island that also produces pearls of good quality.

         The government has set a target of total transactions worth Rp20 billion in the upcoming festival, up 33.3 percent from Rp15 billion in IPF 2012.

        In the first IPF, held at Grand Indonesia Jakarta in 2011, sales reached Rp7 billion, said Maman Hermawan, the ministry's director of non-consumable products development.

         Pearls, particularly South Sea Pearls (SSP), have high economic value and will continue to be sought after.

        SSP have Pinctada maxima shells and are known for their colours and stunning glitter; in fact, there is a high demand for SSP in the international market.

         Indonesia's SSP come in various colours¿white, cream, silver, pink, and gold.

         Today, at least four countries¿Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, and Myanmar¿are known as suppliers of SSP.

         The country¿s cultured SSP are found in the waters surrounding Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and West Papua Province, within the Raja Ampat (Four Kings) archipelago, on Alyui Bay's Waigeo Island.

         Indonesia is home to 53 percent of the pearl types in the world. The country, however, has so far used only 28.5 percent of its pearl cultivation potential in eastern Indonesian waters such as in West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku Islands, and Papua.

          Indonesia has the potential to produce up to 20 million tonnes of SSP a year, and it hopes to increase its production of pearls from 5.7 million tonnes in 2010 to seven million.

          In 2010, 95 percent of the 5.7 million tonnes of pearls was exported to Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, and Japan, and this merchandise was valued at US$30 million dollars in 2010.

          Currently, Indonesia is the world's largest supplier of SSP, constituting 43 percent of the world¿s supply.

         "Indonesia's world trade value is ranked ninth, with an export value of US$29.4 million or 2.07 percent of the total value of the world's pearl exports, which have reached US$1.4 billion," said Minister for Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sharif C. Sutardjo.

         However, Indonesia's trade value is still below Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, Tahiti, the United States, Switzerland, and Britain.

         Indonesia exports pearls to Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Switzerland, India, New Zealand, and France, noted the minister at the pre-launch of the Indonesian South Sea Pearls book in Nusa Dua, Bali, recently.

         MMAF hailed the publication to increase the brand value of SSP both locally and internationally; this will increase the competitiveness of Indonesian pearls.

         Minister Sharif asserted that his ministry is optimistic that the export value of pearl will increase, given Indonesia¿s vast area of cultivation, skilled labour, and high-end equipment and technology.

          To realise these targets, the MMAF has completed six development projects that include the development of an oyster broodstock centre in Karang Asem, Bali, and the establishment of the Non-consumptive Product Development Directorate, under the MMAF's Directorate General of Processing and Marketing of Fishery Products (PMFP).

          In addition, the government has also established an Indonesian Pearl Sub-commission on the Fisheries Product Commission under the coordination of PMFP directorate general.

         Other projects include the Initiative of the Pearl Indonesian National Standards (SNI) Issuance (has been issued), and the partnership between MMAF and the Indonesian Association of Pearl Cultivation (ASBUMI) to conduct the Indonesia Pearls Festival annually to improve the quality, quantity, and the marketing of pearls in both local and international markets.

         "To protect Indonesian pearl suppliers, MMAF has issued the Ministerial Regulation No. 8/2013 on the Pearl Quality Control Logged into the Territory of the Republic of Indonesia," said Sharif.

        Previously, Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Festival 2013 was organised in Senggigi, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, from June 29 to 30, with activities such as pearl auctions, a pearl exhibition, talk shows, a cultural show, and a painting competition.

         NTB is known as the largest supplier of pearls and has exported pearls to New York (the United States), Tokyo (Japan), Geneva and Zurich (Switzerland), and Milan (Italy). ***3***
(f001/INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE