• It is difficult to analyse the pearl production figures with any certainty. The trading practices used in the informal sector (by the travelling salesmen who tour the islands, for example) cannot be easily accounted for, which makes it difficult to accurately assess the situation.

  The only sources of overall information which are liable to provide some idea of the total output are the Customs Office, which handles all ongoing transactions, and the lnstitut d'Emission d'Outre-mer (IEOM). The quantities of pearls produced can therefore be roughly gauged from the pearl export figures. Graph no.2 below gives the marketable pearl production profiles for the period starting when the activities of this sector were launched in 1970. Unfortunately there are no sources of information available from which it might be possible to determine the total pearl output per atoll.

   

• During the first fifteen years or so (at least up to 1992), the pearl output from Polynesia never amounted to more than 1 tonne. This period corresponded to various successive phases in the development of the sector. The first experiments carried out in 1970-80 encouraged pearl growers to invest in this activity, and they were amply rewarded as from 1990-92, when an unprecedented boom occurred on the market.

  For six years, from 1993 to 1998, the annual production increased to 6 tonnes, which corresponds to a mean increase of one tonne a year.

  Although some people started to predict as early as 1996 that the sector would shortly be reaching its maximum production and export capacity, these limits were still being pushed back in 1999  by the flourishing new industry. From 1998 to 1999, the total amount of crude pearls exported from Polynesia rose from 6.1 to 8.6 tonnes, which amounts to a 40% increase.

  On the other hand, the new customs declaration system inaugurated in July 1999 (which was Christened SOFIX), taxing articles such as necklaces made of pearls, resulted during the first few months of the year in a spate of exports of this kind: in 1998, 500 kilogrammes of pearl jewellery and other such items were exported, as compared with 2.4 tonnes during the fist half of 1999.

  However, to quote Martin Coeroli, the Director of the "Tahitian Pearl" Economic Interest Group, which was created to organise and promote the black pearl market at the international level, given the strong fluctuations reflected in the statistical data, there is still some doubt as to whether the figures put forward to account for the exports of articles made of pearls are completely accurate.

Apart from the year 1999, the pearls belonging to the category "crude cultured pearls" accounted for  97% of all the exports. The remaining three percent correspond to the by-products called "keshi" and "mabe".  

After being monopolised for a long time by Japan, pearl production has been becoming an increasingly international activity during the last ten years or so. This redistribution has been mainly due to the arrival of four new cultured pearl producers on the map :

-     Australia recently freed itself from its dependence on Japanese technology and now produces its own " White South Sea Pearls" .

-     China recently began to produce very large quantities of white " Akoya " pearls.

-    The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, small-scale producers of the little " Black South Sea Pearls", recently appeared on the scene.

-     Polynesia has increased its Black Pearl production more than 40 fold during the last 10 years.

French Polynesia is by far the world's leading producer of "Black  South Sea Pearls" (those obtained from Pinctada margaritifera ), since this Territory supplies 90% of the  world's market requirements. If these figures are compared with the world's entire cultured pearl production, all varieties combined, Polynesia can be seen to supply  25% of the world's whole market.

The final results published for the year 1999 show that French Polynesia has acquired the enviable status of the world's top.

Like the production figures, the pearl sales figures reflect a strong process of growth.

These statistics, which are expressed in millions of Pacific Francs (1 Franc CFP = 0.055 FF), were given by the Customs Office, which has recorded all the sales of pearl products since 1972,  when it was created, up to the present day. Graph no.3 gives two variables, the value of the total sales achieved in this sector per year on the ordinate on the left, and the mean sales price of pearls per gramme on the abscissa on the right.

This graph shows that various periods occurred during the development of this sector.

• From 1972 to 1980 :

  This period corresponds to the very early days in the development of the Polynesian pearl trade. The whole Territory contained only a few  farmers whose work with Pinctada margaritifera was practically unknown work with Pinctada margaritifera. The lack of information about the product did not do much to help the sales, as can be seen from the ups and downs on the sales curve and the low overall income derived from  these sales (the red curve). There was a tendency towards growth, however, since the market increased from 336 000 CFP worth of pearl products sold in 1972 to 101 875 220 CFP in 1981.

  The blue curve giving the mean price of pearls per gramme follows a similar pattern and reflects the market fluctuations. The mean sales price of pearls per gramme, which  was 3454 CFP In 1974, for instance, was down to only 570 CFP the following year.

• From 1981 to 1985 :

  During this four-year period, the first shaky steps became stronger and developed into a flourishing activity. The sales of pearl products increased 2.5 fold in value, and the mean price of pearls per gramme increased 1.5 fold.

  The year 1984 was hit by a general slump as regards both the volume of the sales and the mean sales price, mainly as the result of two cyclones which caused considerable damage to the Tuamotu islands in 1983.

• 1986 :
  The year 1986 is known as "the marvellous year" among the Polynesian pearl farmers. Despite the large decrease in the quantities of pearls sold in 1985, the mean price of pearls per gramme suddenly shot up. The market sales increased by 42% in 1986 as compared with 1985, and the cultured pearl market benefited from favourable economic conditions, which led to a happy state of  imbalance between strong demands and low supplies. The sales price of pearls per gramme reached a record figure of 9584 CFP, which has never again been achieved so far.

• From 1987 to 1994:
  The overall revenue derived from pearl products began to climb, especially in 1992, when  this figure rose from 4252 million CFP to 11 907 million in 1994. This process was correlated with the large amounts of pearls produced: the market was ready and able to take advantage of this situation, thanks to the progress achieved in this sector. The mean price of pearls per gramme dropped by 23% at this time, however. The period from 1991 to 1994, during which the sales rocketed, was the time when the Black Tahitian Pearl was really launched on the market. And yet the recognition thus achieved was not properly followed up by all those involved, who did not take steps to ensure  a "high quality policy".

• 1995 :
  This was a black year for the world of cultured pearls: Japan, the main pearl importer, was hit by a severe socio-economic crisis, which was aggravated by the earthquake which caused great losses to the representatives of the international pearl trade based in Kobé. 

  In addition, the social unrest which occurred in French Polynesia when nuclear tests were resumed off the island of Moruroa created an unfavourable climate for promoting and selling the "natural"image associated with the Polynesian landscape and with pearl fishing.

  The price of pearls per gramme dropped to an all-time low that year at 2187 CFP, and the overall pearl sales decreased by 19.5% in comparison with 1994.

   

• From 1996 to 1998:
  In the year 1996, a salutary rebound from 1995 occurred, since the sales soared up again (by 66%) before evening out  (see the red curve on graph no.5) from 1996 to 1998; whereas the price of pearls per gramme increased very little after falling so dramatically in 1995. The general shape of the curve therefore looks rather discouragingly flat, since only a 15% increase occurred in the price of pearls per gramme from 1995 (the black year) to 1998, when it amounted to 2530 CFP.
  

• 1999 :
  The stabilising tendency observed during the two previous years did not last long, since 1999 saw a  50.4% increase in the pearl export figures. Leaving aside the articles made of pearls, which complicate the statistical comparisons, the exports rose by 32% from 14.4 to 19 billion CFP. The price of crude pearls per gramme has remained fairly stable, however, at 2400 CFP. If one takes the articles made of pearls into account,  the mean sales figures dropped that year to an all-time low, 2037 CFP, since some merchants started exporting ready-to-make  necklaces to avoid having to pay the tax on ready-made articles.

Summary :

Two main conclusions emerge from the above analysis. In parallel with the increase in the pearl production figures, the sales of articles made of pearls have risen considerably since 1990. Unfortunately this improvement in the sales performances did not lead to appropriate marketing measures being taken. As a result, the value of the Black Tahitian Pearls, whose name alone is synonymous with high  quality jewellery,  has been constantly on the decrease.

These weaknesses are preventing this sector's economic potential from being fully realised,  although it has been so greatly boosted by the strong growth of the industry.