gold price in venezuela
Would you believe it if you knew that there is a place in the world where the price of gold is less than that of a cup of good tea or coffee? This may sound like a dream or a rumor, but it is today’s reality in the South American country Venezuela. The gold for which people in India have to spend their hard-earned money to buy it, is priced like a penny.
1 gram gold for Rs 181
While gold prices are skyrocketing in India, the mathematics is going exactly the opposite in Venezuela. If we look at the figures, the price of one gram of 24 carat gold in India is around Rs 13,827. In sharp contrast, the price of gold of the same purity in Venezuela is only Rs 181.65 in Indian currency. Yes, you read it right, just Rs 181. Meanwhile, one can get a cup of tea in any good restaurant in India.
The condition of 22 carat gold in Venezuela is also similar, where it is available at around Rs 166 per gram. However, this cheap gold is not a symbol of prosperity, but the destruction and historical decline of the local currency ‘Venezuelan Bolivar’ (VES).
gold sent to switzerland
Reports by Reuters and Swiss broadcaster SRF claim that during the tenure of President Nicolas Maduro, especially between 2013 and 2016, about 113 metric tons of gold was secretly sent to Switzerland.
The government used its gold reserves extensively to support the economy and repay the debt. The result was that the official gold reserve of this country, which was once laden with gold, kept decreasing year after year. Trading Economics data testifies that by 2024, Venezuela had only 161 tonnes of gold left. The menace of corruption and inflation has almost hollowed out the government treasury of the country.
Stock of 8000 tons, still dependent on every grain
The irony of Venezuela is that this country is not poor, but the system here has made it helpless. This is one of the few countries in the world where nature has provided treasures with both hands. This country has 17% of the world’s crude oil reserves. Not just oil, according to official claims, there is a huge reserve of more than 8,000 tonnes of gold, diamonds and bauxite buried under the Venezuelan soil in the ‘Orinoco Mining Arch’.
If mining had been done properly, Venezuela would have been among the richest countries in the world today. But due to weak policies and mismanagement of resources, according to the World Gold Council, by the end of 2024, official gold production here will be only 30.6 tonnes, which is zero at the global level.