November 14: Myanmar earned nearly $35 million through the sale of jade and gems during its mid-year Gems Emporium earlier this month, the semiofficial weekly Myanmar Times reported Monday.

The weeklong sale in Yangon ended Nov. 4 with sales reaching $34.88 million, the state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise was quoted as telling the paper.

Jade sales were the biggest earner, contributing more than 70 percent of sales ($24.55 million), followed by gem lots at 27 percent ($9.56 million) and the rest coming from jewelry and pearl sales.

Myanmar is a well-known producer of jade, rubies and sapphires.

The emporium drew about 700 gem dealers, mostly from China and Thailand.