BUYERS from 36 countries are expected to attend the third edition of the annual Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Festival, which will be held from July 6 to 10 on the island in West Nusa Tenggara province.
The festival is being organised this year as part of the Visit Lombok Sumbawa 2012 campaign.
Quality pearls cultivated in Indonesian waters, such as from West Nusa Tenggara, Papua and Maluku, will be on auction at the event.
Indonesia Ministry of Culture and Tourism director general of tourism marketing, Sapta Nirwandar, said: “There will be some 200kg of pearls for auction, and we expect a transaction of US$150,000 out of it.”
Nirwandar said this was a significant increase over last year, when 20kg of pearls were put on auction, with a turnover of US$45,000.
Lombok is the largest pearl trading centre in Indonesia, with products from local pearl farms being exported to the US, Japan, Switzerland and Italy, according to
West Nusa Tenggara governor, Muhammad Zainul Majdi.
“Pearls from Lombok are of high quality, and they are a potential attraction for travellers and buyers,” he said.
