Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Over 80 percent of gold jewelry in Iran's market are imported illegally from abroad, said Hossein Pendarvand, a board of directors member of Iran's Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Precious Stones Producers Association.
Almost one ton of gold jewelry is traded in Iran's market every day, Pendarvand said, Fars news agency reported.
He further said that while gold jewelry import is banned, some 80 percent of the products traded in Iran's gold market came from Turkey, India, the UAE and Thailand illegally.
He expressed regret that Iran has become one of the main markets for smuggled gold jewelry which harms the domestic products.
"Ten years ago the country was among the gold jewelry exporters," Pendarvand said.
He also said that Iran is among the top five gold and jewelry markets in the world.
Meanwhile Abdollah Mohammadvali, chairman of the Iran's Chairman of Gold, Jewelry, Silver and Precious Stones Producers and Exporters Association said earlier that Iran is seeking to gain access to a share of 2.5 to 5 percent in the global gold and jewelry market in the next 10 years.
According to Mohammadvali gold economic turnover in the world is estimated to be equal to $600 billion and that of the jewelry to about $700 billion.