WGC Report: Gold plays vital role in Turkish economy

Author: Paul Ploumis
22 Jan 2015 Last updated at 07:26:03 GMT
ANKARA (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) has released a new report that analyzes the role of gold in Turkish economy. The report titled “Turkey: Gold in Action” explores the crucial role played by gold in extending support to the country’s economy.

The report states that Turkey is home to the entire gold value chain from mining and refining, to jewellery design and investment. The country’s gold demand is strongly bonded to its rich cultural heritage. The country hosts some of the world class fabrication facilities too. The Turkish population is believed to have huge household stocks of gold, estimated around 3,500 tonnes worth nearly $145.3 billion.

The Turkish administration has implemented various policy reforms to monetize the gold stocks to support the country’s economy. Earlier in 2011, the country’s central bank had incentivized commercial banks to introduce a wide range of gold-backed investment products. This helped a lot in strengthening the banking sector and boosting the bank gold reserves. In 2012 alone, gold fabrication, consumption and recycling added at least US$3.8bn to Turkey’s economy. The policy reforms have successfully drawn nearly 250 tonnes of household gold into the country’s financial system.

The report further states that gold is deeply implanted in Turkish culture. The gold mining industry, though small, has shown signs of rapid growth. The Turkish gold production has grown multi-fold from 2 tonnes in 2001 to 33.5 tonnes in 2013. With a well-developed supply-chain infrastructure, the country could potentially become a regional gold refining and recycling hub.