According to the Dubai Pearl Exchange (DPE), which is one of the divisions of the Dubai Commodity and Raw Materials Center (Dubai MultiCommodities Center, DMCC), the total value of pearl transactions in 2009 was 99.6 million dirhams (US $ 27.2 million). Dubai's International Department of Statistics also said that pearl trade last year increased from 95 million dirhams (US $ 25.9 million) in 2008 to 99.6 million dirhams. The growth was due to a 30% increase in pearl imports.
DPE specialists note that buyers in Dubai are increasingly choosing to purchase exclusive pearls of the highest class. The pearl consumption in the emirate last year also increased compared to the previous year, due to a significant increase in the segment of natural pearls, which amounted to about 50%.
Since its inception in 2007, DPE has made a significant contribution to the development of pearl trade in the emirate. With the goal of creating an active market in Dubai, DPE launched a special pearl tender - Dubai Pearl Tender. Private buyers can now purchase the world's rarest specimens of pearls, natural gems and cultured pearls. Last year, the total amount of transactions concluded thanks to the Dubai Pearl Tender was 3.5 million dirhams (US $ 956,284), some large pearls were sold for 150 thousand dirhams (US $ 40,993).
Dubai's natural pearl trade has increased tenfold over the past few years, thanks to imports to Australia and India and re-export to new markets, including Bahrain, Hong Kong and Switzerland. As for the sale of cultured pearls, its import increased due to Australia, China and Hong Kong last year, and re-export - thanks to Japan, Lebanon, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Australia.
