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Farms on the Rise

By Mick Elmore

Pearl farming in Southeast Asia remains in its infancy, but it may be growing up soon.

The coastal waters of Southeast Asia offer fertile territory for cultivating pearls, according to investors who have made the plunge. The climate is right, and the waters are clean and offer the nutrients needed to farm pearl-producing oysters. But politics and lack of investment — mostly politics — remain the biggest obstacles to the growth of pearl farming in the region.

South Sea pearl oysters are checked from the racks off Naka Noi Island, Thailand. Photo by Mick Elmore.

Joint ventures have started in Myanmar and Vietnam, and Thailand has made some inroads in pearl farming, too. In Vietnam and Myanmar, investors are close-mouthed about their research, guarding their information from competitors.

Myanmar shows the greatest potential for pearl farming, with its hundreds of kilometers of coastline and countless islands in the Andaman Sea. Once a major source of natural pearls, local entrepreneurs formed a joint venture with Japanese pearl technicians to farm pearls there in 1954. Although pearl farming declined soon afterwards, interest never disappeared.

In recent years the country has been a spotty source for pearls, but what has come out has been widely praised for its quality. Japanese, Australian, and Thai businessmen have separately set up joint venture firms to cultivate South Sea pearls in the islands of the southern archipelago, near Thailand.

Officials with the government-run Myanmar Gem Enterprise in Yangon told Colored Stone they have had good success with joint ventures for pearl farms.

At the same time, politics continue to get in the way. For example, Australian investors have reason to be concerned about their joint venture with General Ne Win's son-in-law, who was arrested in March and remains in jail.

General Ne Win, who pretty much ruled Myanmar from 1962 until 1988, was under house arrest at press time, and his son-in-law and three of his grandsons remain in jail. They were arrested for allegedly abusing their power for person financial gain; as with most things political in Myanmar, details are difficult to come by.

Even details about the farming operations are hard to get. One Thai dealer who accompanied the Myanmar Navy to the pearling region reported that the information is classified. "It is off limits to everybody," he said.

Joint ventures in Vietnam are not much more forthcoming, and the industry is smaller because the government has limited the number of foreign operators there. Those pearl farms tend to produce akoya pearls, however, and the quality of the Japanese product is hard to match.

Thailand has a few farms, including the well-known Naga Pearl. Despite very positive initial results, Naga experienced a setback in 2001 when its Japanese partner left for Vietnam. They recently restarted operations, but are supplementing their income by encouraging tourists to visit the farm.

The relative lack of pearl farming in Southeast Asia has more to do with the difficulties of doing business with the local governments, particularly Vietnam and Myanmar, than a lack of potential in the water. Several players in the industry have said that they will not invest in farms in Myanmar, for example, because of the political situation.

It's a mark of just how small an impact Southeast Asian farms are making in terms of the world market that even local Bangkok dealers don't offer any of the goods. When asked, representatives of South Sea Pearls Co. Ltd. and Famous Gems in Bangkok said they are interested in examining pearls from the region, but have yet to see any.

Still, with pearl demand on the rise and serious investment being made in these farms, they're worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Pearl Import & Export Statistics