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To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (47388)	1/23/2000 3:54:00 PM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116759

Shortage of gold takes the glitter off Karnataka?s jewellery exports Raghu Krishnan BANGALORE 23 JANUARY FACED with a critical shortage of gold, Karnataka's Jewellery Exporters' Association (KJEA) fears a 20 per cent drop in exports over the next few months. According to the association, the problem is specific to Karnataka. However, it has also hit exporters from Tamil Nadu who had registered in Karnataka due to a sales-tax problem which has since been resolved. KJEA president Rajesh Mehta told ET that availability of gold had plummeted from 100-150 kg a month to 30-40 kg now. The Bangalore office of MMTC, the Government of India's nominated agency for gold imports, was finding it difficult to ensure its regular availability. Instead of an expected 20 per cent increase in exports from Rs 30 crore-Rs 40 crore a month, the association now projects a decline of 20 per cent during the next few months. MMTC's general manager in Bangalore was not available for comment. Commerce ministry sources said, ``There has been some dislocation in supplies of gold. However, the problem is being looked into and should be sorted out soon.' Twelve other agencies had also been nominated to import gold. But the exporters were finding it difficult to re-execute the bank guarantees, Mr Mehta said. These guarantees were executed almost a year in advance and entailed a commission of 1.8 per cent on the value of the quantity of gold each exporter wanted. Mr Mehta estimated that it would take more than a month to re-execute these guarantees. With gold having to be sourced at least 60 days before the execution of an export order, the exporters now now did not know whether to switch or stay with the MMTC. ``Supplies of gold from MMTC became erratic in November but the problem peaked in December. The association has written four letters to the commerce ministry but we have not received any response. It is the smaller exporters who are the worst hit since they rely mainly on MMTC,' Mr Mehta said. The US is the main market for jewellery exports, accounting for 35 per cent, followed by UAE with 25 per cent, and the UK and the Far East with 20 per cent each. Although shipments for the peak season (October-January) are almost over, KJEA members are worried that failure to fulfil orders in the slack season could affect their credibility and have a long-term impact on their business. economictimes.com

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (47388)	1/24/2000 9:30:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116759

1/24/00 - Rawlings praised AGC for hedging Accra (Ghanaian Chronicle, January 24, 2000) - President JJ Rawlings showered praises on Ashanti Goldfields exactly two years ago in his second sessional address to the Parliament on Thursday January 1998 for their hedging strategies. He was speaking about the falling gold prices when he referred to comments he had made at the opening of the National Economic Forum. He noted that the "falling world price of gold was a threat to the well being of our national economy". At the time gold prices, by his personal accounting, had "slumped to its lowest level for almost 20 years". The President cited the mass retrenchment in other countries that had followed the fall in gold prices, and gave full marks to Ashanti Goldfields for developing mechanisms against such crippling effects. "Fortunately, we have not got to such a point, thanks to the competitive nature of most of our firms on the world gold market and The Ashanti Goldfield's Corporation's hedging mechanism". He warned however that "the crippling effect of the collapse of gold price on export earnings, employment generation and economic growth should not be underestimated." That was two years ago. Copyright 2000 Ghanaian Chronicle. Distributed via Africa News Online.