Baku, Azerbaijan, March 3
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Exports of gold and jewelry are not satisfactory considering reserves of gold in the country,IRNA quoted Iranian deputy Industry Minister Houshang Rezaee as saying on March 2.
The country ranks 57th in the world for gold reserves, but exports of gold and jewelry are very little, he said.
Iran exported some $1 billion worth of gold and jewelry in the past Iranian year 1391 (March 2012-March 2013), while the global trade turnover hit one thousand billion dollars, he explained.
Italy and Turkey are the two leading gold and jewelry exporters, he noted.
In May 2013, IRNA quoted deputy head of the Geological Survey of Iran Behrouz Borna as saying that Iran's gold reserves are estimated to be over 340 tons.
Fifteen gold mines are being operated across the country, and two others will be added in the current year, Borna said.
Iran ranks 12th in Asia and 42nd in the world in terms of gold reserves, he added.
The country's gold production capacity is projected to hit 10 tons in the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2014, he noted.
Iran plans to export as much as $2 billion worth of jewelry by the Iranian calendar year 1395 (March 2016-March 2017), IRNA quoted head of the union of Iranian jewelry producers and exporters Ebadollah Mohammad Vali as saying on Feb. 15.
The global trade turnover of jewelry amounts to one thousand billion dollars, he added.
The country has the capacity to export $5 billion worth of jewelry, he noted.
Currently, around 130,000 persons are working in the jewelry industry, and the figure can be increased to 350,000, he said.
Russia, east Europe, and the Persian Gulf Arab states are the main destinations for Iran's gold and jewelry products, he further said.
Edited by C.N.