Tanzanite price falls by 80 pc
2009-01-11 14:08:47
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
First it was cotton, then followed coffee, Nile Perch, tourism and this week tanzanite joined the list of the latest casualties of global economic meltdown, when the price of the rare gemstone plummeted by 79 percent at the global market.
The situation has prompted thousands of tanzanite miners as well as brokers to suspend production, pending the stability of the global market for the uniquely Tanzanian gemstone which generates about $500million (Sh575 billion) annually.
The government`s share of the earnings is about $20million in taxes and royalties, the big chunk of which is paid by local miners, while foreign investors continue to enjoy the huge tax exemption granted to them under the controversial Mining Act of 1998.
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Tanzanite price falls by 80 pc