Gems worth Rs. 8.6m exported last year:

Chinese market for Sri Lanka's blue sapphires

There is a new market for Sri Lankan gems in China

The National Gem and Jewellery Authority's (NGJA) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hasitha Tillekeratne recently had discussions with China's Ambassador in Sri Lanka Madam Xluping Yang on gem exports to China.

Ambassador Xluping said that the Chinese considered Sri Lanka's blue sapphires a symbol of good fortune and prosperity and called upon 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 organized 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.

Tillekeratne said China which today stands unshaken before the global economic recession - would prove to be an excellent market for Sri Lanka's blue sapphires. He said Sri Lanka exported gems worth Rs. 8.6 million to China in 2008.