Schneebeli was in town last week to release WGC's India Resource Book, containing gold jewellery designs from across the globe, and also to assess the WGC's role in the light of the latest Exim policy.

As part of its gold promotional drive across some of the promising regions like India and the Middle East, WGC will increase its promotional allocation by around 15-20 per cent during 1997-98 from the overall gold marketing kitty.

With the developed countries dumping gold from their treasuries for the past one year or more, it is an open secret that WGC's presence is not required much in these markets. Accordingly, WGC has targeted some of the promisingdeveloping countries like India, the Middle East and few others to push the metal more than ever before.

Speaking to The Financial Express, Schneebeli said gold's main competition was against consumer goods.

He said those engaged in gold and the gold jewellery trade will have to watch out for the competition unleashed by the overall liberalisation of various sectors of the economy which results in exploding availability of consumer goods like camcoders, video recorders, colour TVs, Ray-Ban glasses and the like. Gold has to compete against such economic goods to find a market; internationally, Indian gold traders will have to compete with other countries which are fast emerging as suppliers of gold jewellery and other products.

WGC is the marketing arm of the global gold trade, but unlike De Beers' Diamond Trading Company it does not promote itself in the advertising for gold products. "We favour promotion of the product more than our name." Schneebeli said.

"We believe in the 4-Ps --affordable Price, desirable Product, convenient Place for purchase (i.e. more spots for purchase of gold) and Promotion of the product.

As regards promotion of gold in India and the Middle East in 1998-99, we have decided to allocate 15-20 per cent more promotional funds from our gold promotion kitty." Schneebeli refused to give exact figures.

Addressing a small gathering of representatives from the gold and jewellery trade, he said: "It is up to the gold trade and industry here to take maximum advantage of the liberalisation and flourish furthermore in a highly competitive arena. The WGC will give all the possible help required in this direction."

According to the WGC CEO, Turkey is fast emerging as one of the leading exporters of designer gold, and will soon take over the top spot from Italy. India will have to compete with such emerging markets in designer gold products, demand for which is rising fast in most of the developing countries.

Asked if the government should give more freedom in goldtrading -- i.e. totally free import and export of gold instead of routing it through 11 designated canalised agencies -- Schneebeli said: "We should not ask too much from the government which has given considerable freedom for gold trade. Instead, we will have to prove to the government that gold is one sector which is the main pillar of the economy that will not only generate more jobs but will also earn maximum possible foreign exchange for the country."

Schneebeli refused to comment on future movements of world gold prices. However, in the light of these promotional efforts and related developments -- both in the international and global markets -- the price of gold is likely to firm up further in the coming months, more so towards the beginning of the festival and busy season that starts from October later this year.

After touching a 12-year low in November last, gold prices have stopped sliding and over the past few weeks there have been signs of a firming up.y