Each of Kyrgyzstan’s 6 million citizens should own some gold, 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of the precious metal at a minimum.

At least that’s the goal of Tolkunbek Abdygulov, the chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the central bank for the post-Soviet nation geographically positioned between China and Kazakhstan. Abdygulov is advocating a shift in savings from cattle to gold, the latter representing the nation’s biggest export. 

Bloomberg reports that since Abdygulov assumed oversight of the central bank in 2014, Kyrgyzstan has raised the share of gold in the nation’s own reserves. Kyrgyz policy makers lifted the 2.6-ton cap on reserves in 2012, allowing purchases to add to the stockpile by 70 percent, surging to 4.5 tons by the end of the third quarter of 2016.

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In comparison, the United States, which leads the world in gold reserves, holds 8,133.46 tons, according to the latest figures compiled by the World Gold Council.

Over the past two years as the Kyrgyzstan central bank has offered gold bars for sale directly to the public, 140 kilograms, or 308 pounds, of gold have been sold, Bloomberg reports.

According to Bloomberg, Kyrgyzstan mines approximately 20 tons of gold annually. The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic uses the national currency, the som, to purchase locally mined gold, which can then be sold abroad if needed.

For more information, visit the Bloomberg report here.