Recognising the magic of Cook Islands pearls

Marketing consultants, Brian Richards and Mike Hodge have come up with a brilliant concept which recognizes our pearls as a luxury product for a niche market of mature, intelligent and wealthy buyers who are craving luxury.
One of the images shown at the presentation was an amazing black pearl bracelet which was retailing at US$100,000 in a Fifth Avenue jewelers store in downtown New York.
The purpose of showing the image was to demonstrate the extremely high price point that pearls can command to the ‘right market’ accompanied with a ‘captivating story’ that will capture the buyer’s imagination.
These particular pearls were being marketed under the Mikimoto brand but judging by colour and luster alone, it is highly likely that the black pearls originated in the Cook Islands but sold under their brand. They could only speculate that the pearls came from the ‘technician’s share’ which are taken away and sold through their own established channels.
They say that 53% of the world’s population live in cities and live far removed from nature and crave a reconnection with nature and are prepared to pay whatever it takes to have a ‘little piece of nature’.
Richards and Hodge say the Cook Islands pearl story conjures up imagery from the ancient past including our voyaging canoes, ships taking our people into forced servitude, maidens running off with lovelorn sailors. The modern days of our pearl farms located in pristine lagoons and diving underwater to tend to their oyster lines and recovering a gem that is rare and valuable product of nature.
Luxury products are much in demand with the consultants using the example of the appeal of Louis Vuitton luggage where 40% of the Japanese market aspires to own a ‘Louis Vuitton’. However, only 8% of the products are genuine, with the fake LV products openly sold right in front of the branded boutiques in upmarket areas which sell the genuine product have closed at night.
The consultants say it is important for the industry to realize that their ‘competitors’ are not the neighbouring farm or retail outlet but those from other countries., such as Australia with their South Seas pearls, Tahitian pearls and now the Fiji pearls. For instance, the price of Tahitian pearls increased their volume from 6 tonnes to 12 tonnes and since 2002, Tahiti has introduced a strict grading and export quality regime as well as controlling production to 8 tonnes yearly to avoid over-supply.
The Cook Islands pearl industry started with some pioneers in the early 1970s followed by commercial pearl farming in 1989. Initially pearls fetched average prices in excess of $60 and led to a ‘gold rush’ with export earnings of $4M annually with a peak of $18M in 2000. Sadly, in the same year, disaster struck with an outbreak of Vibrio harvei which decimated the pearls leading to a dramatic drop in the number of pearls grown.
The decline spelt disaster to many of the farmers and the numbers of farms dropped from 212 at their peak to just 49 active farmers in 2008 (but with 79 licences issued in the past 2 years)
The importance of adopting a lagoon management plan
In the heyday of the industry, everyone was too busy making money to heed the calls for a management plan and it was not until disaster struck that the need for a management plan and sticking to it was seen as necessary.
In discussions, some farmers felt they already had enough burden and since there were only 49 farmers could not see the point, while another faction are enthusiastic about adopting such a plan once all the issues and finer details are finalized. After all Tahiti has regulated their industry for their own benefit, and there is no reason, Cook Islands could not do the same.
The realities of life on the farm
Meanwhile down at the farm, the harsh realities are as illustrated by the daughter of Papa Tekake William who delivered a message from her father asking the Forum to please address the problems at a ‘grassroots’ level.
For instance, some farmers need assistance to buy basic equipment but at US$5,000 are out of their reach financially. Without the pearl farmers, there would be no pearls and no pearl industry and at the moment the farmers who are still in the industry are struggling.
Other suggestions from various quarters at the Forum was to ask Government to consider establishing a ‘revolving fund’ to enable farmers to have some working capital while waiting for the sale of their pearls to come through.
The good news is that Government has allocated $200,000 for a scheme along those lines which will be under the umbrella of CIIC but accessed through the BCI. Financial Secretary, Sholan Ivaiti said the final details as to eligibility and terms and conditions to ensure that accessibility is fair and equitable are yet to be finalized but he can say it is not a loan but a grant.
Government has also committed $406,000 toward the operating costs of CIPA and added $20,000 toward a marketing budget for promoting our pearls to the world.
As acknowledged by CIMRIS project manager, Geoff Mavromatis, the farmers tend their pearls from ‘dawn to dusk’ and it is not an easy task but if the pearl industry wants to make money, then they must work together to achieve the desired result.
DTIB also announced there was assistance through their Outer Islands development grant which could be used for buying tools saying his department could take applications right now for the next allocation of funds expected next month.

Headlines : Times 258 07 July 2008
- A gift fit for a King
- Recognising the magic of Cook Islands pearls
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Headlines : Times 256 23 June 2008
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