2005 Seen as Stellar Year for Exported Tahitian Pearls
PAPEETE, Tahiti (Jan. 23, 2006)—Last year was “a stellar year” for the exports of loose Tahitian cultured pearls as volume continued to drop and quality and value continued to increase, Perles de Tahiti General Manager Martin Coeroli announced today.
Continuing the trend that began in 2003, the volume of exported loose Tahitian pearls dropped 5% last year over 2004, but their value increased by 15%.
That made 2005 “a stellar year, once again proving that strict government controls and increased marketing efforts worldwide can successfully combine to improve the quality of Tahitian pearls reaching jewelry wholesalers and retailers,” Coeroli said.
Number of Exported Loose Tahitian Pearls Drop 41% from 2002
And proving that more is definitely not better in terms of quality, the number of exported loose pearls last year totaled 4.9 million, compared with:
• 5.1 million in 2004,
• 6.6 million in 2003 and,
• 6.9 million in 2002.
“That means the number of exported loose Tahitian pearls dropped an impressive 2 million, or 41%, from 2002 to 2005,” Coeroli said.
But the export of loose pearls was only part of an outstanding year for Tahitian cultured pearls and their byproducts, which the trade association Perles de Tahiti has been promoting worldwide since 1993.
Overall 2005 Tahitian Pearl, Pearl Product Exports
Category | Value | % Change with 2004 |
| Loose pearls | 12 billion FCFP US$126.5 million €102 million | + 15% |
| Average Price/Gram | 1 500 F CFP US$16 €13 | +21% |
| Worked Pearls | 50 million F CFP US$521,000 € 419,000 | No Change |
| Pearl Works | 445 million F CFP US$4.6 million €3.7 million | + 180% |
| Nacres, Keshi, Mabé | 585 million F CFP US$6.1 million €4.9 million | +60% |
Jewelry | ||
| Silver | 70 million F CFP US$729,000 €587,000 | Not Available |
| Precious Metal | 925 million F CFP US$9.6 million €7.6 million | +47% |
OVERALL TOTAL | 14.2 billion F CFP US$148.1 million €119.2 million | +21% |
Volume of Exported Pearls Steadily Drop
The volume of exported loose Tahitian pearls steadily dropped from:
• A record high of 11 tons in 2002 to 9.96 tons in 2003,
• To 8.5 tons in 2004 and
• To 8.1 tons in 2005.
“That’s an amazing 36% drop over the past three years,” Coeroli said.
Exports of loose Tahitian cultured pearls, often considered one of the key measuring sticks for the health of French Polynesia’s 33-year-old pearl industry, steadily increased in value over the past two years. They went from:
• 10 billion French Pacific francs (US$95.4 million/€83.8 million) in 2003,
• To 10.5 billion French Pacific francs (US$115.5 million/€88 million) in 2004 and
• To 12.2 billion French Pacific francs (US$126.5 million/€102 million) in 2005.
“That’s a very healthy 22% increase over the past two years,” Coeroli said. “And in U.S. dollars it’s even better, with a 33% increase.
“A higher value means better quality pearls. That translates into a strong demand from wholesalers and retailers to meet the growing appetites of today’s consumers in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, Montreal and other big cities for an increasing variety of innovative Tahitian pearl jewelry,” he said.
Average Price Per Gram Up 21%
Another key measuring stick for the economic health of Tahiti’s pearl industry is the average price per gram. That rose 21% between 2004 (1,240 French Pacific francs) and 2005 (1,500 French Pacific francs).
Since Tahiti’s French Pacific franc currency has a fixed exchange rate with the euro, there is no fluctuation from year to year in the average euro price per gram for Tahiti’s loose pearl exports.
However, the exchange rate for the USD and the Japanese yen change daily. Thus, the average USD price per gram for exported loose Tahitian pearls increased 21% between 2004 and 2005. And the average yen price per gram was up 22% for the same period. Over the past three years, the average USD price per gram rose 63% and the average yen price jumped 54%.
Nearly 85% of Tahiti’s Exported Pearls Go to Japan and Hong Kong
Basically, there are two key markets in the world that account for nearly 85% of the direct imports of loose Tahitian pearls. Last year, 45% of Tahiti’s pearls went to Japan and nearly 40% went to Hong Kong.
There were no big surprises there. Japan has been the N° 1 export market for loose Tahitian cultured pearls since 2003. One big difference last year was N° 2 Hong Kong’s increased market share in terms of the number of imported Tahitian pearls. Thailand remained the N° 3 market, but with far less of a market share.
The U.S.A. and France remained N° 4 and N° 5, respectively, with China moving from the N° 17 market in 2004 to the N° 6 market for exported Tahitian pearls in 2005.
Loose Tahitian Pearls Exported to 30 Countries
Overall, Tahiti exports its loose cultured pearls to 30 countries around the world. With Japan and Hong Kong accounting for nearly 85% of that market in terms of the number of exported pearls, the remaining 28 share the 15% that’s left. The next four biggest markets are the U.S.A. (4.53%), Thailand (4.15%), France (2.11%) and China (1.03%). All of the remaining 24 countries account for less than 1% of the number of exported loose Tahitian pearls.
Coeroli, who has been at the helm of Perles de Tahiti since its very beginning nearly 13 years ago, attributes last year’s stellar performance of loose pearl exports to several factors. They include:
• A four-year restructuring of the Tahitian pearl industry since 2001 with the launching of wholesalers and producers cards officially establishing who is working in the industry;
• An increased effort in controlling pearl quality by both the government and pearl producers; and,
• An improvement as well as an expansion of Perles de Tahiti’s overseas promotional efforts. END