Following what seems to be governmental play-of-the-day, the Japanese government has just pushed through an $80-billion stimulus plan, which includes a cash hand-out of $200 to every citizen of Japan.According to a radio recount from Radio National in Australia, the Japanese pearl business has been one of the first industries to be hit by the financial crisis. Mark Willacy reported from a pearl auction that buyers were sparse and wallets were closed. Dealers are already sitting on large inventories of unsold goods.
But one thing stands out to me in this report. The Japanese are fudging the pearl numbers once again. The report states Japan’s pearl production to be at 70 tons. Where are they getting this number? Someone either pulled it from history, or pulled it out of their ass. That is a number Japan has not seen in more than a decade.
The JPEA claims around 1300 pearl farms in Japan. Not all of them are actively producing. In fact, I’d surmise more than half are not. Most farms are diminutive, producing around 10 kan. The real tonnage of pearls produced currently is almost certainly a third of what is maintained in this report.
One thing is certain. Pearl producers are suffering. Wholesalers are suffering. Luxury dealers are suffering. The luxury goods biz is suffering. The world is suffering. The stimuli is going to be too little and too late for many.
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3 comments:
Maybe the Japanese government can encourage the citizens to use their cash hand-out to buy pearls, and the pearl dealers can give an extra discount for purchases within a certain time frame after the money is distributed!
encourage them to buy pearls? yah, let them eat cake.
Hmm- cakes covered in pearl dust would probably be a cost effective way of getting rid of the left overs...
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