Despite U.S. legislation signed last month banning the import of rubies and jade from Myanmar to America, gem sellers in Yangon, Myanmar are unimpressed. The sale of sapphires, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, jade and other gems at the Myanmar Gems Museum is thriving, with professional buyers and tourists the main costumers.
The Detroit News quotes a jeweler at the Myanmar Gems Museum: "Our buyers are almost all from China, Russia, the Gulf, Thailand, India and the European Union, and we can barely keep up with their demand."
Myanmar, (formerly Burma), produces almost 90% of the world's rubies and is a leading international supplier of other gems and jade. The government-controlled gemstone sector, which has been universally criticized for its harsh working conditions and poor environmental controls, is a major source of export revenue for the military junta.
According to human rights groups, the gemstone industry rakes in between $300 million and $400 million a year for the military regime.
The U.S. embargo on Myanmar gems is the latest move to apply financial pressure on the junta. Various Western countries have imposed economic and political sanctions against the military government, which seized power in 1988. The junta violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations by monks last year.
The U.S. bill has completely banned the import of gems from Myanmar. The US believes that previously Myanmar had been evading gem-targeting sanctions by laundering the stones in third countries before shipping them to the U.S. The U.S. has reportedly been lobbying in the U.N. Security Council to consider introducing international sanctions.
Myanmar's rubies, particularly the rare "Pigeon Blood" stones, are highly prized on international markets. The country's precious jadeite deposits produce the dark green "Imperial Jade" which is highly popular in China and other countries in the region.
The junta holds regular gem auctions for foreign merchants where it sells thousands of lots of valuable gemstones. The sales generate over $100 million in foreign currency per sale.
