1893 Mikimoto, the father of Japanese pearls, cultivated the first perfect pearl, which directly promoted the formation and rapid development of the pearl industry. After more than a century, the pearl industry has undergone or is undergoing profound changes.
1. Evolution of seawater pearl industry
16 years, the output value of seawater pearls (referring to the output value sold by pearl farmers to wholesalers) dropped sharply. According to statistics, the global output value of seawater pearls was $800 million in 1993, and it dropped to $500 million in 1999, and only reached $370 million in 2009, which was 53.75% lower than that in 193.
Figure 1-2- 16 Statistical histogram of global mariculture pearl output value
(Source: Andy M? Ller, "A Brief Analysis of Global Mariculture Pearl Industry")
The overall output value of seawater pearls has shrunk dramatically, but the market share of different regions has quietly changed: the monopoly position of Akoya pearls (Japanese seawater cultured pearls) has been broken, and black pearls and Nanyang pearls have become the two main forces in the market. As shown in figure 1-2- 17, the market share of black pearl was only 1% in 1983, and it has risen to 35% in 2009; Nanyang Pearl also jumped from 5% of 1983 to 47% in 2009; The market share of Pinctada martensii dropped sharply from 93% in 1983 to 18% in 2009, a decrease of 75 percentage points. Let's take a look at the situation of Pinctada martensii, Black Pearl and Nanyang Pearl respectively:
1. 1 Pinctada martensii Pearl
(1)Akoya pearl
The main pearl in Hepu Pinctada is Akoya pearl, and some Hepu Pinctada pearls are also produced in China (Nanzhu, China), Viet Nam and South Korea. Akoya pearl used to be the first pearl in the world, but now, its former glory has gradually drifted away.
Figure 1-2- 17 Market share evolution of different types of mariculture pearls.
(Source: Andy M? Ller, "A Brief Analysis of Global Mariculture Pearl Industry")
According to the statistical data of Akoya pearl production in recent 60 years, the peak output is 1966, reaching 230 tons, and the expected output in 2009 will not exceed 15 tons at most, down by 97.8%. What caused the continuous decline of Japanese pearls?
A. Natural factors: natural factors such as water pollution and earthquakes;
B fierce market competition: internal and external competition caused by the rapid development of black pearls and Nanyang pearls;
C. the increase in breeding costs: mainly affected by the appreciation of the yen;
D. Weak consumer market: emerging jewelry consumption hotspots such as diamonds are sought after by young people, and pearl consumption demand is declining.
Table1-2-11952 ~ 2012 akoya pearl production statistics
(Source: Andy M? Ller, "A Brief Analysis of Global Mariculture Pearl Industry")
(2) China Nanzhu
In the 1970s, the annual output of China Nanzhu was about tens of kilograms, and by the end of 1980s, the output was only about 1 ton. From the early to the middle of 1990s, the output of seawater pearls increased sharply to about 30 tons, but the quality was uneven. After 2006, China Nanzhu fell into the dilemma of falling both in volume and price.
Table 1-2-2 Statistics of China Nanzhu
Cause analysis:
A. short development time and low degree of industrialization;
B. Insufficient investment in science and technology, slow improvement of pearl quality;
C. the industrial chain is imperfect and the market development is insufficient;
D. imperfect industry management.
1.2 Black Pearl
It is mainly produced in French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Indonesia, the Philippines, including Ryukyu Islands in Taiwan Province Province, and China also has some production. The cultured mother shell is a black butterfly shell. Tahiti black pearl accounts for 93% to 95% of the total global black pearl production; Although the output of Fiji black pearls is low, they are of high quality and are deeply loved by consumers.
Table 1-2-3 Value Statistics of Tahiti Black Pearl
From 1972 to 1996, Tahiti black pearl was in the golden age of rapid development. From 2003 to 2008, the annual output remained at about 10 ~ 15 tons. Compared with 1996, the output increased by 2 ~ 3 times, but the output value decreased by 34.38%. The present situation of Tahiti black pearl is "quantity increasing and quality decreasing".
Reason one: the government is poorly managed. The government's lax management of the issuance of breeding licenses and blind policy and financial support have led to the proliferation of farms, overcapacity and rapid price decline.
Reason 2: Export tariffs are too high. The export tariff of $5 per gram is too high compared with the price of pearls, which leads to rampant smuggling and out-of-control prices. June 5438+October 2008 10, the cancellation of export tariffs directly led to the following third reason.
Reason 3: Tahiti Pearl International Promotion Agency disintegrated. From 2003 to 2008, 6 million to 9 million dollars were spent on the global promotion of Tahiti Black Pearl. However, the abolition of tariffs has fundamentally shaken the government's financial support for Tahiti Pearl International Promotion Agency. With the disintegration of the international promotion organization of Tahiti Pearl, the global promotion of Tahiti Black Pearl has been greatly reduced.
1.3 Nanyang Pearl
Mainly produced in Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar; Sabah and New Guinea in Malaysia also have some output; There are white butterflies and golden butterflies in cultured mother shells.
Like Japanese mariculture pearls and Tahiti black pearls, Nanyang pearls are also facing the same situation, with pearl production increasing and sales decreasing. From 65438 to 0998, the output of Nanyang pearls was 2.4 tons, with an output value of $220 million. The output in 2009 was 12.5 tons, but the output value was only $654.38+72 million. The output increased five times, and the output value decreased by 2 1.82%.
The global financial crisis triggered by the American subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 is also an important reason for the decline of mariculture pearl industry.
Figure 1-2- 18 Statistics Curve of Pearl Value in South China Sea
2. Changes in freshwater pearl industry
2. 1 Analysis of the export data of freshwater pearls in China in recent 20 years
China's freshwater pearl production accounts for more than 95% of the world's freshwater pearl production and has an absolute monopoly position. It can be said that the freshwater pearls in China are the freshwater pearls in the world. From the export of freshwater pearls in China in recent 20 years, we can analyze the overall development of freshwater pearl industry in China.
From the analysis of figure 1-2- 19, it can be seen that:
(1) The total export volume of freshwater pearls in China peaked in 2004, with exports of 1 103 tons, and decreased to 532 tons in 2005, down by 51.76%; It picked up in 2006 and 2007, and in 2008, the total export volume dropped to 563 tons again. Pearl production in China is on the decline.
(2) In the three curves of unit price, export amount and total export amount, export amount is positively correlated with unit price, while total export amount has little influence on export amount.
Figure1-2-191992 ~ 2008 China freshwater pearl export statistics.
2.2 Analysis of the development trend of freshwater pearl industry in China in recent two years.
Since 2002, the freshwater pearl industry in China has experienced two severe tests in 2005 and 2008 respectively. In 2005, it was mainly affected by tax rate adjustment. Before 2005, pearl export tax rebate14%; In 2005, the export tax rebate rate dropped to 5%, and the export profit of pearls fell sharply. Some pearl enterprises began to transform and explore the domestic market.
In 2008, influenced by macroeconomic changes at home and abroad, the pearl industry showed the characteristics of first promoting and then restraining. The negative impact of export tax rebate on industrial development in 2005 has not subsided, and the arrival of the global financial crisis has made the development of freshwater pearl industry in China worse.
In the first half of 2008, although the natural disasters in some parts of China at the beginning of the year had a certain degree of adverse impact on freshwater pearl breeding, and the continuous appreciation of RMB also inhibited the export business of freshwater pearls to a certain extent, on the whole, the domestic freshwater pearl industry in the first half of 2008 was not significantly impacted by the global economic crisis. About 95% of freshwater pearls in the world are produced in China, and pearls have been one of the precious jewelry products of China people since ancient times, which also reflects the culture of China to some extent. Therefore, in the first half of 2008, the domestic freshwater pearl industry continued to maintain a good development momentum under the comprehensive influence of many factors, such as the optimistic expectation of the China Olympic economy and the gradual emergence of the global influence of China culture.
In the third quarter of 2008, with the gradual implementation of domestic macro-control measures, the role of macro-control in restricting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises has become increasingly prominent. At the same time, the strengthening of government-related security measures before and after the Beijing Olympic Games also restricted the market development space of the Olympic economy to some extent. The optimistic expectations of the market for the Olympic economy are generally lowered, and the adverse effects of the global economic crisis on the domestic freshwater pearl industry are gradually emerging. However, influenced by the growth foundation and development inertia formed in the first half of 2008, the whole freshwater pearl industry still maintained a certain development momentum in the first three quarters of 2008. According to the statistics released by the State Customs, the export of jewelry products in China only increased by 4.15% from June to September 2008 (the growth rate in 2007 was 16.8 1%), and the natural or cultured pearls with absolute advantages in raw material resources in China continued to grow substantially.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, the domestic freshwater pearl industry began to suffer from the global economic crisis. At present, China freshwater pearls are mainly exported to developed countries and regions in Europe and America through jewelry wholesalers in China and Hongkong. In the global economic crisis, some small and medium-sized jewelers in these countries and regions were unable to pay the goods on time due to the financial pressure caused by shrinking consumption, which led to some jewelry wholesalers in Hong Kong delaying the payment of domestic pearl enterprises. Therefore, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the freshwater pearl industry in China encountered the most serious business dilemma since the Southeast Asian financial turmoil. Small and medium-sized pearl enterprises are afraid to continue purchasing pearl raw materials for fear of product sales (the pearl industry calls raw materials "unified goods"), or they are unable to pay the cost of purchasing pearl unified goods because of financial constraints. Due to the inability to receive payment from pearl enterprises on time, some small and medium-sized pearl farmers have to cut pearls that have only been raised for 2-3 years and sell them at low prices, resulting in a large number of low-grade, low-quality and low-price unified goods in the pearl market. On June 5438+065438+ 10, 2008, when the business situation was the most tense, some low-grade and inferior unified commodities appeared irrational panic selling, and the prices of some unified commodities once fell by 50% ~ 60% compared with the third quarter.
According to industry practice, the first quarter and the fourth quarter of each year are the best harvest periods of pearls, and the economic income of pearl farmers is mainly concentrated in this period. However, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the irrational panic drop in the price of pearl commodities caused many small and medium-sized farmers to be unprofitable or even lose money. Pearls hurt farmers, and some farmers with poor risk tolerance finally decided to give up continuing to cultivate pearls.
However, due to the combined effects of the normal raw material procurement of large pearl enterprises at the end of the year, the reduction of the national pearl culture water area, some peripheral capital investment and the reluctance of large pearl farmers to sell, the panic drop of pearl product prices in the middle of the fourth quarter of 2008 gradually eased by the end of 2008, and the price of pearl products rebounded by about 20% ~ 30%, and the price of pearl products also declined to some extent.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, the export of freshwater pearls in China experienced unprecedented challenges. Affected by the global economic crisis, the consumption demand of pearl products in developed countries and regions in Europe and America has obviously shrunk. According to the national customs statistics, the export of China's pearl products suddenly decreased in the fourth quarter, with a decrease of 32.38+05% compared with the same period in 2007.
In the first half of 2009, the operating conditions of the whole industry were basically stable, and there was no further deterioration compared with the end of 2008. However, compared with the same period in 2008, the overall operating performance of the freshwater pearl industry has declined to some extent. According to customs statistics, in the first half of 2009, the export volume of processed and cultured pearls in China was 289 tons, an increase of-3.8% compared with the same period in 2008. The export value was US$ 6.5438+0.0285 million, an increase of -654.38+04.8% compared with the same period in 2008.
Among the processed cultured pearls:
① Compared with the same period in 2008, the export quantity of cultured pearls without grading processing increased by 30%, and the export value increased by 38.6%. The average price level of low-grade pearl products has improved to some extent compared with the beginning of 2009 and the same period in 2008;
② Compared with the same period in 2008, the export volume of other processed and cultured pearls increased by-10.6%, and the export volume increased by-17%. The average price level of middle and high-grade pearl products has increased to some extent compared with the beginning of 2009, but decreased to some extent compared with the same period in 2008.
3. Where is the Pearl Industry Road?
Looking at the global pearl industry, it is really hard to be optimistic! However, if we want to welcome another village when there is no doubt, we need to think calmly and rationally. Where is the way of pearl industry?
3. 1 Find a balance between supply and demand
Pearl industry is a special bio-industry, pearl commodity is essentially jewelry commodity, and the demand curve of pearl commodity is unconventional. Pearl is neither an ordinary commodity nor a commodity from Jia Xu, and generally belongs to "Weber commodity". Its demand curve cannot always be inclined upward, but should be a parabola with a downward opening. It is precisely because of the essential characteristics of pearl commodities and unconventional demand and consumption patterns that one of the core objectives of its operation is not to pursue the output of pearls, but to pursue the high quality of pearl products to maintain its scarcity. It is wise to limit output, win by quality and seek the best balance between price and profit.
In view of the periodicity of pearl culture, it is unlikely to reduce productivity in the short term; However, with the adjustment of the market, under the influence of the dual factors of insured price and lasting profit, the balance between supply and demand should be gradually realized in the near future.
Figure 1-2-20 Pearl Commodity Demand Curve
(Source: Essential Characteristics and Corresponding Development Strategies of Pearl Industry in South China Sea, Marine Development and Management, 2005)
3.2 Industrial integration
Industrial integration is an inevitable stage of industrial development. Take the American automobile industry as an example. As early as the end of 19, the American automobile industry began to develop, and many people devoted themselves to the automobile industry. By 1907, there are 557 registered automobile manufacturers in the United States. In the course of one hundred years' development, there are more than 1000 automobile manufacturers in the United States. Over time, many companies went bankrupt, and at the same time, many new companies were established. Today, there are only three automakers in the United States (all in the process of restructuring), but the number of cars produced by these three companies far exceeds the sum of the cars produced by the past 65,438+0,000 companies.
2009 China Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Guide
Generally speaking, excessive competition makes pearl farming and wholesale unprofitable. If related enterprises can't effectively break through and form differentiated core competitiveness, it will be an insurmountable survival crisis. The meager profit level gradually pushes the development of pearl industry to a deeper level, and horizontal or vertical industrial integration is imperative. Most pearl enterprises have fully realized that it is imperative to carry out differentiated business model changes. As far as the current situation is concerned, it is a wise choice to integrate business mainly with vertical integration and supplemented with horizontal integration.
After the integration, pearl enterprises will gradually form the core competitiveness which is difficult for ordinary competitors to copy by effectively controlling the cost of pearl cultural components, improving product design capabilities and effectively expanding market space. This core competitiveness will develop into brand value with the improvement of market share and profitability of enterprises, thus avoiding low-level price competition to a great extent and forming a virtuous circle of differentiated competitive advantages in service quality, product development and design ability, and cost control of aquaculture products.
The road is tortuous and the future is bright. We firmly believe that bravely facing challenges and rationally responding to challenges are rainbows after the storm! After the reform, the pearl industry will surely advance by leaps and bounds!