Chinese market for Sri Lanka's blue sapphires

National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) is looking for markets for Sri Lankan gems.

The Chairman and the CEO of the NGJA Hasitha Tillekeratne recently held discussions with China's Ambassador in Sri Lanka Madam Xluping Yang on gem exports to China.

Ambassador Xluping said that the Chinese consider Sri Lanka's blue sapphires as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity and therefore she encouraged the Gem Authority to take steps to provide every Chinese family with an authentic blue sapphire, from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka-China relations go back to thousands of years. History records that during the Anuradhapura period a Sri Lankan Buddhist mission donated relic caskets studded with blue sapphires to temples in Kungking, China during a visit there.

Today there is a new market for Sri Lankan gems in China. The NGJA has organised a "Sri Lanka Pavilion" at a leading gem exhibition this year, to be held in Shanghai from May 13-16 where a number of Sri Lankan gem businessmen are scheduled to participate.

This is the third such "National Pavilion" to be held at a leading Gem and Jewellery Exhibition in China.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tillekeratne says that China which today stands unshaken before the global economic recession would prove to be an excellent market for Sri Lanka's blue sapphires. According to him Sri Lanka exported gems worth Rs. 8.6 million to China in 2008.