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ONGOING efforts by
the Myanmar Pearl Enterprise under the Ministry of Mines to
improve the pearl industry, including cooperation and
support for local and foreign joint ventures, has helped
establish Myanmar as a major pearl producer.
Pearls may be cultivated from either wild fished oysters or
hatchery-produced shells. The Myanmar pearl industry has
moved quickly to produce increasingly large quantities of
pearls from hatcheries rather than from wild shells as in
the old days.
The British engaged in pearling for natural varieties in the
Myeik Archipelago as early as 1891.
After independence, around 1950, a Japanese-owned company
engaged divers to search for natural pearls and sold them in
international markets. They proved very popular, and
'Burmese pearls' began acquiring a reputation 'as being one
of the world's finest varieties. One reason for this is that
40 per cent of Myanmar pearls are golden in colour, unlike
those from Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines, which
are silvery or yellow. Golden pearls are sought after
because they are scarce and command a premium price.
The pearl industry was eventually nationalised under the
socialist regime. In 1988 the government embraced a free
market philosophy, and by 1996 foreign pearl companies began
investing in Myanmar. The first was the Thai-owned Andaman
Pearl Co.
In 1995 the Tasaki Co. signed a joint venture agreement with
the government.
The Myanmar Atlantic Pearl Co., based in Australia, in 1998
; signed a joint venture agreement with the Myanmar Pearl
Enterprise to culture pearls in the Myeik Archipelago.
The company specialises in the culture of South Sea pearls.
There are many varieties of pearls in the world today,
including black pearls, tiny akoya Japanese pearls and
freshwater pearls from China and India. But of all these,
South Sea pearls are most valued and fetch the highest
prices.
" At first we sold all our produce in Japan, but since our
last two harvests we have also been selling in Myanmar and
have been successful beyond our expectations," said Dr Thant
Thaw Kaung, the general manager of the company.
"We have a product sharing agreement with the government: We
give them 25 per cent of the pearls we produce and are then
free to dispose of our 75 per cent as we please. We can sell
them locally or export them without paying any further taxes
because we are a joint venture with the government," he
said.
Oysters can be fertilised only between the months of January
and May. Male and female oysters are placed in water tanks
at a ratio of 6 males to 20 females. Then the temperature is
raised. This causes the oysters to release sperm and ova
into the water. These seek each other out and become larvae,
which attach themselves to knotted 'collector ropes' that
are put into the water.
After 45 days the ropes are placed in panels that are sent
out into ocean waters within the contract area. This area is
off limits to fishermen and unauthorised boats and ships.
Security is enforced by Myanmar Navy patrol boats.
After two years the oysters are about 10 centimetres long
and ready to be seeded. This consists of prying open the
shells and inserting a nucleus or foreign body into it. The
oyster tries to deal with the foreign body by depositing
layer upon layer of calcium called nacre on it. The
accumulated nacre constitutes the pearl.
Seeding an oyster is a delicate process; the shell must be
pried open to implant a nucleus and mantle tissue in the
oyster's gonads. Until recent times, only Japanese
specialist technicians were able to perform this work at
high speed and with good nucleus retention rates. Now this
skill is being acquired by Myanmar technicians.
Breeding and seeding techniques are being improved to
increase the percentage of gold pearls produced, due to both
their greater market appeal and value compared to the white
and yellow pearls.
By the end of the fourth year the oysters are ready to be
harvested. The shells are reopened and the pearl removed,
after which another nucleus can immediately be inserted.
This can be repeated two or three times during the oyster's
lifetime, after which it has grown too old and is set free
in the ocean to begin life anew as a wild oyster.
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