Pearl farming business

Overview

What’s the first things that comes to your mind when you hear about a pearl ? A shiny white ball? A beautifully sewed necklace ? A sign of richness and elegance? Or probably a chance to find that pearl incidentally when you are eating an oyster? You are right about all of this but there’s much more to it that just that.

Pearls weren’t much framing oriented earlier. A natural pearl found from under the ocean beds in the oysters living in there was considered to be the most expensive pearl. As of now Marie Antoinette’s pearl pendant which was sold for $32 million in 2018, owns that position.

It is Because of higher demand of this precious gem that people had to shift to the process of pearl farming from which we get what is called a cultured pearl

Pearl farming is nothing but extracting an oyster from the water, manually inserting a cell of mollusc tissue or a donor tissue in to the oyster and putting it back to the fresh or marine water for a period of 6 months to 12 months and wait for a pearl to grow.

The value of a single pearl is worth between $300-$1500 and the value of a cultured pearl in the world trade would be $2 billion of which India imports $0.2 billion.

Pearl farming is one task for a business but the business this small, white, shiny ball is likely to get to you is a line of the rich and high-end distributors enough for you to go on a vacation with your family to the beach without worrying about extracting oyster rather just eating them.

Market potential

The potential for a pearl farming business has contributed to many of its determinants and has opened a wide market for itself. Pearl farming is one the best acquculture businesses.

It is at the Gulf of Munnar ( Tamilnadu ) and in the Gulf of Kutch ( Gujarat) that the extraction of the pearls takes place but now the production has shifted to Tiruvanantapuram in Kerala. It’s in Hyderabad, the City Of pearls that has pearls passed down from the Nizams that this city in India is known for.

The increased disposable income, improving standard of living, importance of social status in the society has contributed to the growing demand of pearls today with the cultured pearls making it affordable

 It’s on these factors of pearl farming that decides its market value and determines its demand potential and its uses

On the basis of Type of pearls

•  Fresh water cultured pearls
• Salt water cultured pearls
• Japanese cultured pearls
• Keshi pearls
• Mabe pearls

On the basis of Shapes of pearls

• Round
• Semi round
• Oval
•   Drop
• Pear
• Button

On the basis of cultivation of pearls

• Natural pearls
• Cultured pearls : sea water and freshwater cultured pearls
• Artificial pearls: made and coated with synthetic materials

Uses

•  It is used for making jewellery : earrings, necklace, rings, bracelets, anklets etc
• It is used for making mats, table cloths, carpets etc
• It is used as a decorative item
• It is embedded and embroidered in clothes as well

 Licenses required

The licenses require to set up a pearl farming business would be:

• Certificate from the Central institute of Freshwater Acquaculture (CIFA)
• Permissions from the Fishermen’s Cooperative society
• PAN and Aadhar card details
• GST registration
• Land and lease agreements

Investment required

The investment made in the pearl farming is around ₹ 3-₹10 lakhs  process depends on these three processes:

·        Cultured area of pearl farming project

·        Cultured technique of pearl farming project : pearls through double implementation

·        Stocking Density in pearl farming business: 9000-10000 mussels

·        Time frame of culture : 6-18 months

Profits made

The profits made out this pearl farming business :

Target consumers

The target existing and potential consumers of your pearl farming business are as follows:

• Jewellery Industry : They would require the cultured pearls cultivated by you to make earrings, and shiny necklaces, rings, anklets and bracelets which are very popular amongst all the other gems. These are also used in combination with diamonds and gold to make pendants.

• High-end decorative stores: The cultured pearls is used by them to produce mats, carpets, coasters, curtains  etc for high end and high income level consumers who desire a social status. Moreover the cultured pearls of a low end oyster quality is synthetically coated with artificial materials and sold to the middle income level population

• High end interior stores: The interior stores which are specialised in expensive in nature interior designing might require cultured pearls in their line of business to suit the consumer requirements for example: pearl based wall cover, doors and dressings etc

• Apparel industry: The clothing and apparel industry of expensive fashion stores make use of these cultured pearls and to embroider and embed them in dresses, tops etc moreover, autonomous Indian fashion designers also make use of these cultured pearls to manually design traditional outfits.

•  Footwear industry: The footwear industry, specifically those high end ones which customise heels and footwear for the Rich and high income population, or those brands with limited editions of shoes might require the cultured pearls to meet a specific target base of their customers

Area required

The area required for cultivating the pearl is ½ to ¾ acre of land

 Raw materials required

The raw materials required to get going with an cultivated pearl farming business would be:

• Nucleus Carrier
•  Graft carrier
•  Forceps
• Cell inserter
•  Graft cutter
•  Sheel opener
• Mussel holder
•  Incision knife
• Spatula
•  Operation scalpel

 Machinery required

The machinery required to set up a pearl farming plant are:

•  Mussel holding tanks
• Bamboos and ropes
•  Cultured ponds
• House and sheds

 Manpower required

The manpower required for pearl farming business is

•  2-skilled labour – grafting of mussels
•   2-unskilled labours— taking care of pond activities

Moreover the pearl farming process involves

• Mussel collection
•  Pre-culture conditioning
•  Implantation of Grafits/nuclei
•  Mantle cavity implantation
•  Mantle tissue implantation
•  Gonadal implantation
•  Post operative care of mussels
•  Pond culture
•  Harvest of mussels

Moreover training to these workers in terms of fertilisation and post harvesting activities through appropriate training centres set up in

• Pearl farming training and research – Rajasthan

Also read :

How to start Organic Farming Business

How to start Poultry Farming Business

 Business model of a pearl farming business

The business model of a pearl farming business can be defined using these 4 variants

 Value proposition: The value which a pearl farming business is likely to get to you is:

•  The advantage of an expensive line of consumers
• High seasonal and festive demand
• High annual profits
• Wide demand because of seasonal production conditions and duration of pearl formation

Target consumers: The target consumers to your pearl farming business are as follows :

•  Jewellery stores
•   High end interior stores
• Decorative stores
• Apparel industry
• Footwear industry

Competitor review: The competition in the pearl farming business is entirely based on the quality, colour and size of pearl you supply. Depending on that your competitors are:

•  Swastik pearls
• Amrapali pearls

Marketing strategy: The marketing strategy to be implemented for your pearl farming business could be 

• Quotas and portfolios justifying your cultured pearl process farming
•   Publishing reports on google with certificates from R&D centres on the authenticity of pearls

Profit margin

The profit margin from a pearl farming business is likely to be around 50%

Suggestions

Are you telling us that to be in the business of one of the most expensive and unique gems still looks a little doubtful to you? Well, let’s us clarify that for you:

• Firstly, the rising incomes of people because of rising working class in India and a need to justify their social status has increased the demand for these gems because they are a little less pricey than a diamond and more than the artificial jewellery

• Secondly, pearl farming as an expensive line of customers. You’ll be dealing with jewellery stores and high end interior designing stores etc and moreover India being a country full of festivals the demand for your pearl farming will be at an highest high

•  Lastly, because of very less pearl framers in India and high cost of imports from China is likely to give you an edge of being a monopoly for pearls  at least in India