MOSCOW, June 6: Russia lifted its veil of secrecy over gold production and exports on Friday, forecasting steady 1993 production and promising a "balancing and moderate approach' to selling gold on world markets, reports Reuter.

Yevgeny Bychkov, Chairman of the precious'metals committee told a rare news conference that Russia had produced 146 tonnes of gold in 1992 and expected to produce the same in 1993.

Exports totalled 98 tormes in 1992 and the country, a major producer, had sold 21 tonnes of gold abroad so far this year.

”1 do not think sales of gold will change substantially," Bychkov said. The government has a balanced and moderate approach to the matter.:

Figures for gold production,

exports and reserves were for long a closely guarded secret in the Soviet Union.

The first glimpse behind the veil, came in November 1991 when economist Grigory Yavlinsky said Soviet reserves were 240 tonnes, a figure which sent world gold markets into turmoil.

Western experts had put reserves at twice that level although they agreed that stocks had been falling for several years as the country struggled to find hard currency.

Other figures for gold reserves have been released since then, but data are frequently confusing and contradictory.

Bychkov said his committee currently held 200.5 tonnes of gold tn its reserves, up from 175 tonnes at the end of 1992.

It had handed 133 tonnes to the central bank last year, al-

though Bychkov could not say If the central bank had already sold some of this gold on world markets or if held gold reserves before the transfer.

In January 1992 — also before the transfer — the committees reserves were 290 tonnes.

Bychkov said Russia's gold industry would need annual investment of 70 or 80 billion rouble (dollar 70 or dollar 80 million), simply to keep production stable.

But gold producers had suffered less than other metals producers because Russia's decision to charge world prices for gold sold on the domestic market meant these producers were receiving adequate funds.

Gold production In 1992 was six or seven per cent below the 1991 level, he said.