Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Production and consumption of gold in Iran over the past five years has dropped to one third, a gold union head said.
Mohammad Keshti-Aray, the head of Tehran’s jewelry, gold and coins union, has said that the nation’s consumption culture and consumers’ attitude towards gold have changed over the recent years, therefore the volume of production and consumption of the precious metal has shrunk in the country, IRNA news agency reported.
According to the official, the ongoing economic recession and value added taxes are among the main reasons for Iranians’ lack of enthusiasm to purchase gold.
In the meantime, the people have become interested in purchasing trinkets which harms the gold market, he added.
He further noted that more than 750 gold shops in Tehran and 3,800 gold shops in other parts of the country have been shut down over the past two years.
Iran produced 1 ton of gold in 2008. This figure doubled by 2009, and reached 2.5 tons in 2012.
Geological surveys have put Iran’s proven gold reserves at 340 tons, with estimates for possible reserves of up to 1,000 tons.