Turkey becomes region’s scrap gold, silver center

Hülya Güler ISTANBUL / Hürriyet

The amount of scrap gold entering Turkey hit 40 tons in the first nine months of the year, up from 17 tons last year, the president of the Jewellry Exporters Association Ayhan Güner has said.

Scrap gold from debt-ridden Greece and inflation-hit Iran has increased as much as threefold in the last month, Güner said, adding that the scrap gold can be turned into international-standard bullion in just four hours.

The 18 percent value added tax was removed from scrap gold imports to Turkey at the beginning of this year. According, it can be sold on by middlemen at significant profits.

Turkey is also attracting more scrap silver this year. The amount of scrap silver imported in the first nine months was 80 tons, up from 30 tons last year, Güner said. Turkish middlemen advertise in the local newspapers of countries and generally transport it to Turkey via airline trips, he added.