According to an article published in the Cook Islands News, the Cook Islands have recently announced their intention to call on Chinese pearl experts to train local workers and put an end to years of exorbitant fees paid to foreign grafters.

Currently, foreign grafters are said to demand up to 50% of all grafted oysters, making it difficult for local operators to expand their farms and repay their loans.

This training initiative was launched by the Development Investment Board (DIB). Its first objective is to identify experts — through the Embassy of China in Wellington (New Zealand) and the South Pacific Trade Commission in Auckland — who will be able to travel to the atolls of Manihiki and Penrhyn, the country’s main pearl oyster production sites.