The millionaire business of emeralds has in dispute Aprecol, the union that groups the largest producers of these stones, and small producers who are concerned about a possible decision by the SIC on the denomination of origin of the Colombian emerald.
The millionaire business of emeralds has in dispute Aprecol, the union that groups the largest producers of these stones, and small producers who are concerned about a possible decision by the SIC on the denomination of origin of the Colombian emerald.
In addition to the production of one of the best coffees in the world, Colombia has also been distinguished for having the best emeralds in the world, according to international experts.
However, for several months now, small and large producers have been facing a decision that the SIC must make soon: Whether or not to grant the denomination of origin of the Colombian emerald.
This would condition the way in which a market of almost US $134 million moves, according to figures from Fedesmeraldas, since the union that groups these producers indicates that the denomination is necessary to, among other things, protect the reputation of the national emerald that it has allegedly been attacked by producers such as Brazil, Zambia and Ethiopia.
“(These countries) claim similar characteristics , in a clear exercise of unfair competition and promote the exceptional and unique qualities of Colombian stone, allowing to recover the space that has been lost in the international market, ” they explain from the union that was born in 1998 , after the union between Aprecol, Asocoesmeral and Acodes.
According to the president of the Colombian Federation of Emeralds, Óscar Baquero, for each emerald that is sold, 1% is allocated to the National Emerald Fund, which leaves an annual collection of between $3,000 and $3,500 million that are destined to social investment, such as the construction of schools or hospitals. According to official figures, each year about 1.5 million carats of emeralds are extracted in the country, of which about 97% are exported by the country’s great emeralds, which are grouped in Fedesmeraldas, for which they would benefit by denomination.
“Our interest at no time is to hinder the production of the emerald or create a monopoly as they have been saying, on the contrary, what we want is for the production chain to take the strength it had in the 90s and improve the numbers in the international market, which will be of great benefit to miners traders, exporters and to the municipalities ”, said the president of Aprecol, Edwin Molina. During the 1990s, the country produced 9.8 million carats, much higher than what is produced today.
Small producers position
On Friday of last week the small producers held a sit-in as a sign of protest in front of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, in Bogotá. They are opposed to the project that would deliver the Colombian emerald denomination of origin “to a small group of businessmen (Aprecol) who seek to manage and decide who can market and export Colombian emeralds,” the organizers of the sit-in explained.
The protesters, they point out, claim their ” fundamental right to work,” as well as their right to market their stones in Colombia and anywhere in the world, calling them Colombian emeralds, “without any restriction.”
The Superintendency is already in the last phase of the process to assign this denomination of origin to Aprecol, and according to the small producers “that is why the entire union represented in associations and cooperatives joins today to claim their right and request that this claim is filed, allowing any Colombian to continue working and trading Colombian emeralds. “