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Myanmar jade traders squeezed between junta, rebels
Fighting around the Hpakant jade mine in northern Kachin state—the largest in the world—has squeezed digging already hampered by the pandemic.
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Police march past a billboard related to stopping the spread of the COVID-19 as protesters gather for a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb. 6, 2021. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
M
yanmar jade traders are running from junta troops and dodging rebel attacks to sell dwindling volumes of the green gemstone, as the billion-dollar industry loses its shine months on from the coup.
The Southeast Asian country has been mired in chaos since the February putsch, with the military trying to crush widespread democracy protests and the economy in crisis.
Fighting around the Hpakant jade mine in northern Kachin state—the largest in the world—has squeezed digging already hampered by the pandemic, cutting supplies of one of the country's most lucrative exports.
Myanmar is the world's biggest source of jade, with the industry largely driven by insatiable demand for the translucent gem from neighboring China.
Most stones pass through the second city of Mandalay, home to the 23-meter high Kyauksein Pagoda, a Buddhist shrine built using thousands of kilograms of the precious stone.
