Turkey may export more gold to Iran

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s gold exports to Iran may increase dramatically if sanctions against Iran are eased, said the head of the Jewelry Exporters Association

Turkey’s gold exports to Iran may hike dramatically if western sanctions against Iran are eased, said Ayhan Güner, head of Turkey’s Jewelry Exporters Association, via a written statement on Nov. 25.

“We can increase our gold exports to Iran dramatically if the sanctions against Iran are eased,” he noted.

More importantly, Turkey may export jewelry to Iran, which has been banned by Iran, he said.

“It will be very positive for our sector if we can sell jewelry, other than gold, to Iran,” he added.

The historic nuclear deal between Iran and six countries halts Iran’s most sensitive nuclear activity and suspends some sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union on several sectors of Iran’s economy for an initial six-month period.

Turkey exported around $6.4 billion worth of gold to Iran in the first nine months of last year, but it closed the year at around $6.5 billion worth of gold exports to the country due to the latest sanctions, according to data from the Turkish Statistics Agency (TÜİK).

Turkey exported approximately $1.6 billion worth of gold to Iran in the first nine months of this year.