US$9.6 million

Annual black pearl auction totals US$9.6 million

SOME 176 lots of French Polynesia’s famous black pearls were sold in a week, at the Poerava Nui internation al auction, totalling a turnover of 963 mil lion French Pacific Francs (USS9.6 mil lion). During this 22nd Poerava, which was held at the newly-build Outrigger hotel (near Pape’ete) by the Tahiti Pearl Produc ers’ Association, initial bids were topped by 60 per cent for the 160,000 pearls sold.

Representatives of some 24 Japanese wholesale pearl dealers took part in the auc tion.

Average price for a single pearl was

estimated at 6,000 CFP, with a price per gramme of 3,200 CFP.

Meanwhile, French Polynesian cus toms seized mid-October some 1,669 black pearls, totalling 2.5 kilogrammes. The pearls were about to be smuggled out of French Polynesia into the United States by three Tahitian brothers.

They were carrying other black pearls, which they declared to customs. But they also carried another stock. The pearls, packed in small bags, were taped on the three’s bodies from chest to foot, and were found after a police search.

The three were arrested and the pearls confiscated. They are facing a heavy fine and export taxes of around 600,000 CFP for the undeclared goods.

“We have increased our checks on passengers because there is in French Poly nesia a traffic, exchanging pearls for cocaine from the United States,” Customs head Gerard Deutscher said.

He also mentioned the impact of smuggling pearls on the world market prices. French Polynesia is the world’s sec ond largest exporter of black pearls. In 1998, it totalled 6.56 kilogrammes export ed. (PINANius Online) ■