problems

Farming

Pearlers face problems

DREAMS of diving for a fortune in black pearls have lured people back to remote Manihiki atoll in the Cook Islands but

some pearlers have plunged into prob

lems.

“Some small pearl farmers on Manihiki are really hurting,” Teanaroa

Paka Worthington, a project analyst

with the prime minister’s office, said in an interview. “They borrowed money to set themselves up, and now some are having trouble making their payments.

There have been some failures.”

The atoll, which is the home of the black-lipped oyster, lies 1000 kilometres north of Rarotonga. Pearl cultivation was introduced there in 1986. Farming cultured pearls, which can command up to A 553,000 apiece, has drawn people back to Manihiki, where only those with blood links to the island can farm the lagoon. Some people came from New Zealand after selling up there, and there were instances of relatives and extended family members putting money into pearling businesses, sources familar with the ventures said. “With the exception of a few smart farmers ... most of the farmers are still at the stage of trying to achieve pearl farming as a viable and sustainable business,” said a recent official report on the local cultured pearl

industry.

For the majority, the results have been “low retention rates (of the pearl nuclei or seed), poor quality pearls and conse quently low financial returns overall”, the report said, adding that many farmers had, however, learned a great deal. “The problem has been one of price expectations,” said an official of the Cook Islands Development Bank, which made loans to the farmers. “With poor quality f>earls, marketing was difficult, and some armers have been short of income.”

Financing to the industry totalled more than ASBOO,OOO, the official said, adding that the bank had “been flexible” with cash-strapped farmers. To revitalise the industry, a Pearl Authority is being established with help from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and with Joan Rolls, who runs a pearls import and export business here, as chairman. In Manila, the ADB said a US$l million (A$ 1.36 million) loan for the authority

was being negotiated.

Worthington said the authority would

help with oyster-farm management,

trading, valuation and marketing. AFP