Myanmar’s jade trade plummets as troubles persist along China border

Myanmar’s exports of jade from mines in Kachin State remain weak due to the continued closure of most border crossings with China, according to traders. Nearly eight months after the Brotherhood Alliance launched its Operation 1027 offensive in October of last year, Myanmar’s lucrative gems trade has largely come to a standstill, costing merchants—and the regime—millions of dollars in lost revenue. According to official figures, sales fell to US$271 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year, down by $60 million compared with the year before. Since the start of the current fiscal year in April, the situation has only gotten worse, say traders. “Not only are the roads blocked, but they’re also damaged and unusable, especially now that the rainy season has started,” said Myint Han, chair of the Myanmar Gems & Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association. Even in Mandalay, business has been slow due to the situation on the border. With around a thousand booths normally catering to tens of thousands of visitors, the city’s famous Maha Aungmyay gemstone centre has seen little traffic in recent months, forcing many dealers to do business amongst themselves. Since the end of the Chinese New Year holidays in February, there have been few buyers from China, who make up the bulk of the customers for jade, said one jewellery maker at the centre. “There hasn’t been a decline in base prices, but there just isn’t much demand right now,” he said, speaking to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity. “Items with really great qualities are still selling at good prices, though,” he added, noting that some trading is also taking place through WeChat, a Chinese messaging app that allows users to make online payments. In Naypyitaw, another gemstone trader remarked that most Chinese buyers had left since the fighting began, and that the few who remained were only willing to pay very low prices. The result, he said, has been the collapse of the local jade market since the beginning of the year. The trade in jade and other gemstones has been a major source of revenue for successive regimes in Myanmar. When the military seized power again in February 2021, the industry soon became a target of anti-junta resistance forces. At least six blasts were reported at the Maha Aungmyay centre in the first year after the coup, as Mandalay-based urban guerrilla groups sought to “warn” traders not to continue lining the generals’ pockets. In fact, no new licences for jade-mining have been issued since the National League Democracy, Myanmar’s ousted ruling party, came to power in 2016. However, it wasn’t until April 2022 that the regime suspended all mining activities in Hpakant, the centre of the industry, in response to heightening tensions between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the area. But the move did little to halt illegal activities, which have continued under the auspices of both the regime and the KIA. Likewise, much of the sale of jade has been taking place through unofficial channels, according to the gemstone trader in Naypyitaw. “Only smuggling directly to China works now, so that means there’s no more trading in Mandalay,” he said. According to a 2021 report by UK-based watchdog group Global Witness, Myanmar’s officially sanctioned gemstone business brought in yearly revenues of up to US$415 million, while the actual value, if illegal mining was included, was estimated to be as high as $2 billion.

Myanmar’s jade trade plummets as troubles persist along China border

The industry—a major source of revenue for the regime—lost nearly a quarter of it value last year and continues to slide

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