• Burmese
Thursday, July 10, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
31 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Hong Kong Jade Prices Soar for Fear of Burmese Jade Shortage

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
January 7, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Hong Kong Jade Prices Soar for Fear of Burmese Jade Shortage

Prospectors look for jade at an open mine in Hpakant

15.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

HPAKANT/HONG KONG — Jade dealers in Hong Kong said their businesses are suffering from soaring prices for Burmese raw jade and jade jewelry due to concerns over a drying up of supplies from the jade-mining town Hpakant, in Kachin State.

Li Qi, a Chinese jade trader who owns a shop in Hong Kong said he struggled to source Burmese raw jade for his business, which carves the gemstone and turns it into jewelry.

Li said a few years ago he was able to buy a piece of Burmese jade at trade fairs in Jieyang City, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, for about US $2,700 and process it into a piece of jewelry that would sell at ten times the price of the raw stone.

RelatedPosts

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

July 10, 2025
245
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

July 9, 2025
593
Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

July 9, 2025
493

These days, Li and other Hong Kong jade traders are struggling to turn a profit as they can barely afford to acquire raw jade, while many customers are turned off by the high prices for jade jewelry and demand is falling.

“[Raw] stones that were only worth 10 thousand yuan [$1,600] before, are now is sold at least 15 thousands yuan [$2,400],” he told The Irrawaddy. “People are definitely buying less [jade jewelry] last year. So, running the business becomes a very difficult task.”

Yet, Li said he believes that the market situation could improve, adding that demand for high-quality jade jewelry remains strong. “Prices of those types of jades that are of high quality have actually risen with 10 to 15 percent from last year,” he said.

Burma produces the vast majority of the world’s jade and the Burmese gemstone is of the highest quality. Most of it is sourced from the Hpakant, a small mining town located 350 km north of Mandalay, in the conflict-torn Kachin Mountains.

Foreigners are barred from visiting the frontier-like town, where thousands of workers perform dangerous, back-breaking work in order to unearth the gemstone. Most of the jade is bought up by Chinese dealers who smuggle it back to their country, where jade is more highly prized than gold.

Jade prices have risen over the past decade as the spending power of Chinese consumers increased. The bubble in the jade market has now reportedly occurred due to fears over a shortage of Burmese jade or the possible introduction of measures by Burma’s reformist government that would limit jade exports and force jade-processing to take place in country.

In Hpakant, a Burmese jade merchant named Yaw Han told The Irrawaddy recently that the jade reserves there could run out in the near future, when bigger mining companies using sophisticated technology move in to replace current labor-intensive forms of mining.

Standing atop a mountain, which offered a 360-degree viewpoint of the scarred mountains where the jade-mining takes place, Yaw Han said, “All the hills and mountains you see produce jades and precious stones. If we continue to find jade through traditional hand-digging, I think that we can find jade for the next generation. But, if companies use modern technology these mountains can be gone within 15 years.”

Much like the timber of Burma’s northern forests, most of the jade is smuggled over the country’s border with China through unregulated trade, without ever being taxed.

Ministry of Commerce trade data provided to The Irrawaddy last year showed that jade was the country’s second-biggest source of revenue after natural gas in 2011-2012, valued at about $780 million. It remains unclear how much revenue the government generates from the gemstone trade.

However, a July 2013 report by the Ash Center at Harvard University in the United States put the value sales of Burmese jade as high as $8 billion in 2011. The discrepancy in these data suggests that most of the jade flows over the border unregulated.

Several times per year the government hosts the national gemstone emporium, a huge trade fair usually held in Naypyidaw where mostly jade is sold.

Yup Zau Hkawng, director of Jade Land Company, a leading jade mining company in Hpakant, said that the amount of jade transported overland to China dwarfed the official amount of raw jade sold at the government trade fairs.

Jade companies, he said, preferred not to sell their wares at the emporium as they would be subject to high government tax rates that could add up to 30 percent of the value of their sales.

“We have to pay three types of taxations … 10 percent for domestic tax goes to the Ministry of Mining, another 10 percent goes to emporium for export tax, and the companies have to pay 10 per cent to be allowed to bid at auctions to win mining concession,” said Yup Zau Hkawng.

Saw Yan Naing reported from Hpakant, Echo Hui reported from Hong Kong.

Your Thoughts …
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.8k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Burma Military Investigates Alleged Rape of 13-Year Old Girl

Burma Military Investigates Alleged Rape of 13-Year Old Girl

Burma Readies to Host Asean Para Games

Burma Readies to Host Asean Para Games

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

37 Years and Counting: Why Has Myanmar’s Democracy Struggle Taken So Long?

7 days ago
1.4k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

2 days ago
742

Most Read

  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Top Russian Arms Supplier Tosses in Quake ‘Donation’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.