Antara News, Friday, May 7, 2010 15:24 WIB
Lombok Barat, W Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - At least 53 percent of the world`s finest types of pearl is to be found in Indonesian waters, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said here on Thursday.
"Indonesia has good pearl industry prospects because 53 percent of the world`s finest types of pearl is to be found in our waters," Fadel Muhammad said after witnessing a harvest of Lombok pearl farmers at Senggigi in Lombok Barat district, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province.
Therefore, Fadel said, he would involve pearl experts in the activity of Lpmbok Barat pearl breeders so that their product would have the quality most admired by jewelers.
He said the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry was determined to have the world`s finest pearls in 2012 from producing areas of Lombok, Maluku, and Papua.
Fadel said Indonesia had such a determination because the pearl price in the country two years ago had dropped as it lost in international competition.
According to the maritime affairs and fisheries minister, the drop in the price of Indonesian pearls was due to three factors, namely lack of marketing personnel abroad, lack of technology in cultivation, and little support from the banking world.
"I came to know this after I coordinated with the Indonesian Pearl Cultivators` Association (Asbumi)," Fadel said, expressing hope that pearl cultivation in Lombok island would continue to make good progress as expected by all parties because the historically the development of world-class pearls had something to do with Lombok island.
He said the "pitada maxima" pearl, the world largest species, was rumored to have originally come from Lombok which then continued to move to China until the United States.
"I admit that my visit to Lombok has something to do with an effort to cultivate world class pearls in one package with tourism development," Fadel said.
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