Lombok Pearl Auction Earns US$ 96,000

Lombok Pearl Auction Earns US$ 96,000

Jakarta, July 14 (ANTARA)- A South Sea Pearl auction organized during the Sumbawa Pearl Festival in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) recently resulted in sales transactions worth a total of US$ 96,000.

The price of Lombok pearl rose from US$5 last year to US$16.3 per gram this year, according to Bambang Setiawan, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Pearl Cultivation Association`s Organization Unit.

The pearl festival recorded the total value of transactions at Rp150 million. A number of Indonesian buyers and 36 foreign pearl companies took part in the festival.

Sapta Nirwandar, the tourism and culture ministry`s marketing director general, said the festival opened wider market and investment opportunities.

It also helped boost the people`s economy especially in the tourism and trade sector, he said.

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