Myanmar sold almost 70 percent of pearls, gems and jade on offer at what became the country’s biggest precious stones auction, the state-run media said on Monday.

Some 1,784 lots sold from more than 2,600 available, raising much needed hard currency for the cash-strapped military government which had hoped it would raise more than 43 million dollars.

No sales figures were published.

However, auction organisers said before the 10-day sale, which ended on Saturday, 2,687 lots were available, worth 39.76 million euros (48.02 million dollars).

“The 2005 Mid-Year Myanmar Gems Emporium has sold more jade, gems and pearl lots than those in previous years, and a greater number of gems merchants from abroad attended it,” the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

A total of 205 pearl lots, 45 gems lots and 1,534 jade lots sold during the sale through a competitive bidding and tender system, the newspaper said.

More than 2,000 gems merchants from Myanmar and 13 other countries attended the sale, it added.

Myanmar earned about 23.8 million dollars from the October 2004 gems auction, and most auction customers are from neighbouring China and Thailand.

Myanmar is one of the poorest and most isolated countries in Asia, but has vast natural wealth — including minerals and highly prized teak wood — that often disappears into black markets.

The junta began the gems auctions in a bid to curb the smuggling of precious stones out of Myanmar, which deprives the government of desperately needed foreign currency.

Myanmar is under stiff EU and US sanctions imposed for human rights abuses and failure to implement promised democratic reforms.

But neighboring giants China and India have increasingly sought to boost trade relations, especially to satiate their ever-growing energy needs with Myanmar’s natural gas fields.