DMCC starts venture to tap world pearl market

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) yesterday tied up with the Australia-based Arrow Pearls Company, while announcing the launch of an integrated pearl centre in Dubai in order to tap the $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) annual global pearl trade.

Termed "Pearls of Dubai”, the centre will include a pearl farm, interpretative concept and a shop, showcasing a new brand of Dubai pearls that will be produced at a pearl farm located off the Dubai coast. The move comes with DMCC initiating talks with two of the biggest pearl producers in the world, Mikimoto of Japan and Paspaley from Australia, for participating in the recently established Dubai Pearl Exchange, said DMCC's top executive.

"They are all very keen to have some participation in the Dubai Pearl Exchange. And we are also exploring the possible synergies we could have with big players for the exchange,” Ahmed bin Sulayem, COO of DMCC, told Emirates Today.

"While there are only a handful of big pearl players in the world, we are talking to almost all significant players. We are conducting studies to find out what other aspects of the pearl trade we can bring to Dubai,” The DMCC COO said. Sulayem further said even China is getting in to the pearl market in a big way.

Meanwhile, Arrow and the DMCC will farm pearls off the Dubai's coast and sell them as branded "Pearls of Dubai”, they said in a joint statement yesterday. The state-run pearl trading hub will offer grading services in partnership with the Pearl Laboratory in Bahrain.

In the global rough pearl industry, however, according to Sulayem, what would sell in Dubai is "big size” and "special colour” pearls. "It is the big size pearls that have a higher value and not the smaller ones. "The smaller ones are competitive in prices. "The pearl trade, once it kicks into Dubai, would compliment the gold and diamond sales in the country,” he said. (Emirates Today)