[Josh]

Word is out that farmers and buyers alike are satisfied with the results of the auction. We plan to participate in the next one (February/March).

[CLICLASP]

Hello,
What is the situation of the market ? Are these Tahiti pearls auctions made in USD?
Since the USD drops at now in front of the Euro, what are the consequences for pearl sales? sold? at what level? in which currency?kept for later?
Thanks

[Josh]

Hi Cliclasp, as I said earlier, I wasn't there but I'm pretty sure it was done in our local currency, the French Pacific Franc. As the US dollar drops, we are hurt more by it, especially since it brings up the cost of exportation per gram (200CFP). I just did the conversion on Yahoo and was actually shocked to see that 200 francs is actually USD$2.44! The highest I have ever seen it. So there you go, as the United States loses it's status as a first world country, selling Tahitian pearls will get progressively harder for producers in Tahiti with American buyers. Since our currency is fixed to the Euro and does not fluctuate, I think that not much will change for European buyers.

[CLICLASP]

Thanks Josh,
I was not thinking of my buying by of Tahitian producers,
What about the Hong Kong market and Japanese buyers?
are we going to a world tahitian pears crisis ?

thanks again

[jshepherd]

The auction was conducted in French Pacific Francs.

I am very happy with the results of the auction. We only won one of the lots on auction but purchased two more afterwards. Most of the lots did not actually sell during the auction but the buyers were able to negotiate with the producers directly for unsold lots. It was Anna's first time and she did really well. We should be well stocked with Tahitians for the holidays, and she was able to secure pearls as large as 15 mm.

The dropping dollar has made the pearl business difficult period. The reason we decided to attend the auction at the last minute was due to the falling US dollar. Even in China we are having to deal with rising prices and sellers who shun the US currency - it is all RMB now. Last week I contacted a large dealer in Hong Kong that has been heavily into Tahitians for years. I was looking for a specific size/grade lot of Tahitians to fill a hole in our inventory. I received a short response that said they were out of the Tahitian business until the dollar regained its value.

Mia is in Zhuji China right now attempting to buy freshwaters (and exotic freshwaters).

I know what you all must be thinking. What kind of a boss would send two employees overseas on Thanksgiving?! Anna to Tahiti and Mia to China... Believe it or not they both volunteered. Now those are some dedicated, amazing employees.

Btw Josh, Anna said you were definitely the nicest producer she met with in Papeete.

[Josh]

Aw, gee. Thanks Jeremy. Although we didn't do business, Anna was pleasant to deal with and had a good sense of humour: something rare in buyers.

[youngster]

Interesting thread! I'll be very interested to see what Mia and Anna come back with. Will these pearls be available before Christmas, Jeremy?