New export markets to boost Turkey’s gold sales
Posted by meb at June 18th, 2007
After a slump, Turkish jewellers have clinched more deals with countries like Russia and the UAE in a bid to diversify export markets and boost exports in 2007. One of the world’s top gold jewellery exporters, Turkey suffered from high and volatile world gold prices in 2006, which chopped demand from consumers and wholesalers. Exports recovered by a modest 17 per cent in the first five months of the year, helped by lower world gold prices.
Murat Akman, Turkey general manager of World Gold Council (WGC), said gold falling back to around $650 an ounce triggered physical buying in May but diversifying export markets was key. “In the past our jewellers mainly focused on the US market but now they’re doing more business with countries like UAE, Russia,” Akman told Reuters in a telephone interview. He said customers from the United States, Turkey’s biggest export market, and Italy were not willing to negotiate their deal terms, which forced jewellers to look at other countries. “But customers from the Middle East or Russia want to settle for a deal that would please both parties and now our jewellers have started to focus on those markets more,” he added.
Gold jewellery exports to the US, while still the biggest part of total exports, declined by 11 per cent in the first five months of this year, while exports to the UAE and Russia increased by 68 and 260 per cent respectively. “Formerly small firms in Russia have achieved a significant cash flow, and the proximity of our countries helps,” Oğuz Özdemir, Export and Import Director of Favori Kuyumculuk said. “We cannot neglect the US market but lately we focused on developing new export markets,” Mutlu Öktem, secretery-general of Istanbul Precious Metals Exporters Association, said. “I believe this will boost our exports this year,” he added, predicting exports could reach $1.3 billion, or 100 tonnes, up from last year’s 85 tonnes, equivalent to $980 million.
Özdemir at Favori said he was optimistic about the rest of the year, as the high season for jewellery exports is the last quarter, when people rush to buy gifts at Christmastime.
“The prices, buying interest, look favourable so I do not think year-end exports would be below 90 tonnes,” he said. World gold prices dipped to a three-month low of $642.90 an ounce last week and have fallen almost seven per cent since early May, after failing to break above $690 level.
source: The New Anatolian
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