I. China's Contribution to the Development of Pearl Industry in the World China is the first country in the world to discover and utilize pearls. According to the ancient book "Shang Shu Yu Gong", pearls were identified as the emperor's tribute in the 22nd century BC, that is, during the Xia and Yu dynasties about 4200-4500 years ago. China is also the first country in the world to cultivate pearls artificially. According to Wen Chang Miscellany written by Pang in the Song Dynasty, the founder and specific method of artificial pearl cultivation in China are recorded in detail: "Xie, assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, has a method of pearl cultivation ... take a slightly larger clam, soak it in clear water, wait for it to open, throw it with pearls (artificial pearl core-author's note) in a hurry, and change the clear water frequently ... after two autumns. This record shows that pearls were artificially cultivated in China 1500 years ago. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Ye Jinyang of Huzhou cultivated "Buddha Beads" from the pleated crested mussels, which was another great invention in history and praised by foreign scholars, about 900 years ago. Linne, a Swedish naturalist, is the earliest record of artificial pearl cultivation abroad. He got the pearl with handle in 176 1 year, which is only 232 years ago, later than China 1200 years ago.
China, Egypt, Persian Kingdom, ancient Greece and India were the main countries that produced pearls in ancient times. However, due to the low pearl yield of natural mussels (only one in ten thousand), the output is very rare. By the19th century, China's pearl culture was introduced to Japan in the late Qing Dynasty. In the 1940s, the pearl industry in Japan began to develop. 1966, there were 7,000 pearl farms in Japan, with an annual output of 104 tons. According to relevant statistics, the foreign exchange income of Japanese pearls reached 2 billion dollars in the first 20 years of this period, and Japanese fisheries made an important contribution to the post-war national economic reconstruction. 1969, Japanese pearl production reached 1 1 1.3 tons, the highest annual output in history. Since then, due to social factors such as water pollution, the output of pearls has dropped sharply, basically fluctuating between 30-40 tons per year. On the contrary, since the 1970s, the pearl production in China has greatly increased. 1979 The world's pearl production is more than 60 tons, including 35 tons in Japan, 25 tons in China, and 3-5 tons of rare spiders in China. 1980 The world's pearl production was over 70 tons, of which Japan was still 35 tons, while China's pearl production rose to 38 tons, surpassing Japan for the first time, ranking first in the world. 1984, China's pearl production reached 1 17 tons, exceeding the historical peak output of Japan 1969. 1986, the annual output of rare spiders in Jiangsu province of China reached 137 tons, that is, the output of a province in China exceeded the Japanese historical peak. Since 1980s, the pearl industry in China has entered a new stage of rapid development. According to authoritative statistics, from 65438 to 0996, the total output of pearls in China reached 2027.4 tons (including 2002 tons of freshwater pearls and 25.4 tons of seawater pearls). It is also reported that the world pearl output in 1999 was 1262 tons, of which China was 1220 tons, accounting for 95% (including freshwater pearls 1200 tons and seawater pearls 20 tons). Although the above statistics may be low and the information is incomplete, they still have important reference value. This statistical data fully proves that China's pearl production has surpassed other countries in the world for more than 20 years in a row, becoming a veritable pearl kingdom in the world and making important contributions to the development of the pearl industry in the world.
Second, the development trend of China's pearl export. Before 1980s, pearls in China were mainly used for export. Since then, especially in the 1990s, domestic sales have also increased rapidly, entering a new stage of simultaneous development at home and abroad. The export trend of pearls in China is summarized as follows:
1, change of pearl export volume in China: 197 1 year, the first time China exported Japanese pearls was only 0.6 kg, 1 1.738 kg (4574 yuan per kg), 1974. 0 years19810.4 tons, 1985 34.36 tons, 1992 According to the statistics of China 3 1 customs, * * exported 699.4 tons of pearls, of which 3996 was from China.
2. The trend of China Danbu Pearl export to various countries and regions: According to 1989 statistics, except Japanese statistics, the export markets of freshwater pearls in China are: USD 30762, German 29976, Swiss 25 135, and Hongkong 15282.
3. Changes in the total export value of pearls in China: 65,438+0,992; the total export value of pearls in China is 699.4 tons, earning foreign exchange of 37.59 million US dollars; 1994 exported 469 tons, earned foreign exchange1480,000 USD, and 1995 exported 485.4 tons, earned foreign exchange of 280 million USD.
It is reported that in 1999, the world pearl output value was US$ 5.4 billion, with China accounting for US$ 380 million. Now, comparing the total export surplus of aquatic products, according to the latest statistics released by the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture (refer to chinese fisheries economics, No.2, 2003 1 1 page), the total export of aquatic products in 2002 was US$ 4.69 billion, and the import was US$ 2.42 billion. Because there is no data on the total export value of pearls in 2002, it is impossible to make a direct comparison, but only a relative comparison. That is to say, China's pearl export is equivalent to 16.7% of China's aquatic products export surplus in 2002, which is not a small proportion, which fully shows that pearls are the dominant products for aquatic products to make profits.
Three. The development trend of domestic pearl market and related enterprises in China The pearl market in China is widely distributed, but the focus is on Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangxi and Guangdong. The key points are summarized as follows:
1. development trend of Zhejiang pearl market: the main producing areas include Shaoxing area (mainly Shaoxing county, Zhuji and Shangyu); Jinhua area (mainly Wucheng District, Jindong District, Wuyi, Yiwu and Lanxi); Hangzhou area (mainly Xiaoshan and Fuyang); Ningbo area (mainly Ninghai and Xiangshan); Wen Tai area (mainly Wenling, Yuhuan and Yueqing); Quzhou area (mainly Longyou). From 65438 to 0996, the annual output of pearls in the whole province was 304 tons, accounting for 14.9% of the national total output. The pearl market in Zhejiang is the largest and most influential. According to the statistics of April 1999, there are 2,000 pearl enterprises with 35,000 employees in this city, centering on the pearl market in Shanxiahu Town, with an annual output value of 3 billion yuan. 200 1, based on the previous market 16, invested 1 billion, and built a new "China Pearl City" with an annual turnover of more than 3 billion. In recent years, Zhuji has held many large-scale "Pearl Festival" with unprecedented pomp. Zhejiang Jinhua is also a key pearl development zone, which has formed a joint system of education, scientific research and private enterprises. In recent years, under the impetus of Zhejiang Jinhua Vocational and Technical College and Jinhua Wangwei Breeding New Technology Company, a series of scientific experiments on freshwater pearl culture have been carried out and achieved initial results. In addition, the mussel diseases were deeply studied, including the diagnosis, classification and correction of mussel diseases. Local experts also put forward the pearl culture and the operating rules of pearl producers and producers for the first time. In addition, there are many pearl powder factories, pearl jewelry factories and clam breeding bases in Fenghua and Shangyu, Zhejiang.
Wujin, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province is also an important pearl producing area. In 2002, * * * cultured 570 million pearl mussels, and the processing value of pearl series products reached 265.438+0.5 billion yuan.
In the past three years, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province has invested 654.38+0.32 billion yuan to develop the pearl industry, among which Liuhe County is an important pearl breeding area. According to the statistics of 5438+0 in February, 2006, the farming area of spider mussels in the county reached 6.5438+0 million mu, and there were 20,000 people engaged in farming, processing and sales. Several famous pearl kings in China, such as Xishengfu in Jiangsu and Dicky Cheung in Zhejiang, have cultivated pearls in this county. Others, such as the suburbs of Suzhou and Wujiang, are famous pearl producing areas in Jiangsu, and there is also a pearl market of a certain scale.
3. Development trend of pearl market in Guangxi: Guangxi is the key area for the development of Haizhu in China, with the output of Haizhu 1 1 ton in/96, accounting for 43.30% of the national marine pearls. In the international market, the world pearls are divided into three categories, namely, western pearls, oriental pearls and southern pearls. Western pearls are produced in Western Europe (Italian, Spanish and other places), Oriental pearls are produced in Japan, and southern pearls are produced in the shallow sea along the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea of China. There is a saying in the international market that "West Pearl is not as good as East Pearl, and East Pearl is not as good as South Pearl", and South Pearl is also known as "the king of pearls in the world". The superior quality of Nanzhu is mainly due to superior environmental conditions, good water technology conditions, suitable temperature (annual average temperature of 24℃, 1 month winter average water temperature of 65438 05℃), good sediment, rich biological bait and many harbors, which provide unique conditions for the growth, reproduction and pearl culture of Pinctada, especially the seven natural pearls along Hepu coast. According to scientific investigation, the area of cultured pearl oyster in this area 10 meter isobath exceeds 250,000 mu. Nanzhu is a world-renowned characteristic economic product in Guangxi, and Hepu Pearl has become the representative of Nanzhu for historical reasons, so [Pinctada martensii] is also called Gouid. The key pearl development zones in Guangxi also include Beihai, Fangcheng and Qinzhou. As early as 1958, three pearl farms in Hepu, Fangcheng and Beihai were established in Guangxi, and 1982 established "Guangxi Pearl Company", which was later "Guangxi Nanzhu Group Company". It is an enterprise integrating scientific research, production, processing and sales. 1994 built an eight-year subsidiary factory, with assets from the beginning. Another enterprise, Beihai Pearl Company, is also a comprehensive large-scale pearl enterprise. Its Nanzhu Palace has a 1000 square meter hall, where five series of Nanzhu products are displayed. 1.996 In Beihai, a large-scale "China Nanzhu City" was established, with an operating area of 7,500m2. In recent years, Beihai City has held many "International Pearl Festivals", which have received great attention and praise at home and abroad. According to incomplete statistics, the output value of Guangxi pearl series products in 1998 exceeded 200 million yuan.
4. Development trend of Guangdong pearl market: Guangdong Province is also the main producing area of Haizhu in China. 1996, the annual output of Haizhu is 14 tons, accounting for 55 10% of the total output of Haizhu in China. According to the statistics of 1997, it is recorded that the cultured area of seawater pearls is 3300 mu, with an annual output of 16382 tons and an output value of 200 million yuan. Guangdong Pearl Farm is mainly located in Zhanjiang City. According to the statistics of 1990, nearly 5,000 people were cultured in farms in the city in 1000, and 450 million mussels were released, with an annual output of 2.9 16 tons. According to statistics in recent years, there are 2,600 mu of pearl farming area, more than 200 pearl processing plants and more than 30,000 employees.
In addition to the above four key producing areas, other provinces, especially those in the Yangtze River basin, have also developed rapidly and set up corresponding pearl markets. Although 1965438 the output of pearls in Jiangxi Province is only 55 tons, some pearl enterprises have developed in a new scale and new features, such as Nanchang Pearl Crafts Factory in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, according to 19 1-. The total output value reached 3140,000 yuan. The factory imported a set of jewelry processing equipment from Italy, which can produce more than 60 kinds of pearl chains with various colors, and then innovatively synthesize pearls with platinum, pure gold and K finance. Others, such as Anhui Province, produced 199 tons of pearls in 1996, ranking third in the national output. Guichi, Anhui Province is the "hometown of pearls" in Anhui Province. By 2006, there will be 5438+0, 300 million young shellfish, 30,000 mu of pearl water and 300 million hanging shellfish. The output of other provinces and cities is: annual output of Hubei Province 1.24 tons, annual output of Hunan Province 77 tons, annual output of Shanghai 66 tons and annual output of Jiangxi Province 55 tons, all of which have a certain scale of regional pearl market and pearl oyster culture area.
In addition to the above-mentioned pearl professional market, there are also many city jewelry stores selling pearl ornaments in China. According to the news released by Xinhua News Agency on May 28th, 2002, by the end of 1999, there were 4,000 designated jewelry production enterprises and more than 20,000 individual production enterprises in China, with an annual sales of 80 billion yuan of jewelry (including pearls).