Turkey imports 20% more gold in 2007, exports $3.7B in jewellery

Turkey, the world's fourth-biggest buyer of gold, imported 20% more of the precious metal last year to 230.8 metric tonnes, compared with 192.7 tonnes in 2006, according to the Istanbul Gold Exchange.

Meanwhile, Turkey's silver imports fell to 93.4 metric tonnes last year from 107.4 tonnes in 2006, the Exchange said.

Turkey's annual gold process capacity volume is worth $10 billion. Last year 239 tonnes of gold bar, worth $5.8 billion, were imported while 148 tonnes of processed gold, worth $3.7 billion, was exported.

Turkey's jewellery sector has an annual processing capacity of 400 tonnes of gold and 300 tonnes of silver and is among the top five gold bar importers, according to sources.