The wholesale price of raw ivory in China has fallen by almost two thirds in the past three years.
A new research released yesterday attribute the decline to closure of the nation’s ivory factories tomorrow.
“The Chinese government have made increasingly strong commitment to close domestic ivory trade in two days,”said Ivory Researcher Lucy Vigne.
Vigne said there are 34 licensed factories that carve ivory in China down from 37. “We have seen a decline in the number of illegal items on display for sale since 2013,”she added.
Speaking at a city hotel, Vigne said China remains the largest importer and end user of elephant ivory tusk in the world as confirmed by date from the Elephant Trade Information System.
“the illegal trade will end this year but the impact of the ban will be determined by their ability to enforce the new rules and prevent the trade.