I've been manufacturing jewelry in Bangkok and for years now and I've witnessed the prices of Tourmaline rough stay amazingly steady. Recently new factors have precipitated a huge average price hike: Namely the discovery of qualities of tourmaline from Africa and Afghanistan that have truly beautiful and therefore precious colors putting tourmaline in the category with Emeralds which have for the longest time been valued much more. Tourmaline comes in all colors and shades of the rainbow but only some colors are very valuable Mostly the blues and pinks bright greens.

Tourmalines are mined all over the globe, including places like the US and Nepal. Most of the mining that feeds today's markets however comes from Afghanistan and various parts of Africa. Nigeria, Mozambique, Madagascar, Uganda, Congo, Tanzania.

Afghani tourmaline is considered very high quality because of its color range and excellent luster and purity it is much more expensive than African.

Afghani Tourmaline can be found in Peshawar Pakistan, the nearest market to the mines which a are located in central Afghanistan. from there it moves to places like Bangkok , Hong kong and Germany . Supply is good and the prices are ranging from 200 to 1000 dollars per gram for rough.
Good quality African rough on the other hand, ranges from 100 to 500 dollars per gram.

The best quality rough stones from all over the world find their way to Idar Oberstein in Germany where higher prices can be gotten. The rest is sold in Bangkok or Hong Kong.

Mostly the low quality bead material goes to Hong Kong.

The New mines in Mozambique have produced new colors such as the "Paraiba" named after the Brazilian quality it resembles. The Mozambique "Paraiba" stones only reach these colors after heating however whereas the Brazilian Paraiba is naturally of brilliant color.( Paraiba in the trade is now defined as copper bearing stones of any color and not as a certain color of blue from brazil)
Nigerian tourmaline is known for a nice pink and if heated the luster and color improve.

The top lapidary companies in the world are in Germany where there is a combination of machine makers and a great tradition of fine goldsmiths.

Cutting edge technologies usually emerge from Germany and filter down to Thailand by way of technicians who are sent to train people in Bangkok.

Bangkok is the close second because of the cheap labor and the huge number of jewelry factories requiring stones.

The Africans who bring rough stones to Thailand and Hong Kong are traders.

They sell stones so they can buy clothing, cellphones and plastic items from China. Mostly these traders are buying from the pickers and know very little about the stones origin. This trade has brought Chinese people to Africa and Africans to China. The world of stones has no boundaries and it is common for Colombian Emerald dealers to bring their stones to Bangkok to be cut or for Indians from Jaiphur to go to Colombia to buy rough. In Hong Kong there is a Building where Many of the Africans who trade with China stay and where they Buy and sell their wares. Sometimes they bring stones by the container and sometimes in a suitcase. The Chinese Near Hong Kong have huge factories where they cut and polish beads in huge machines and where thousands of stringers make colorful necklaces.