Myanmar: Jade, Drugs and GDP

Aug 23, 2018 | Thiha Saw, Myanmar Times
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Myanmar boasts of possessing precious natural resources including those that are mined, legally or otherwise, and one of these resources is jade. But there is an enormous difference between the official data and estimates provided by non-profit organisations like Global Witness. For example, the state-owned Myanmar Gems Enterprise reported jade sales of just US$61 million in the second half of 2015. In comparison, recent estimates by Global Witness place Myanmar›s jade sales at $31 billion.