GJEPC said the industry is seeing a surge in exports and domestic sales of gold jewelry (plain and studded) post-pandemic.
GJEPC said the industry is seeing a surge in exports and domestic sales of gold jewelry (plain and studded) post-pandemic.
India’s gold imports rebounded to 1,067.72 tonnes in 2021 from 430.11 tonnes in 2020 when demand fell due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gem Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said on Thursday.
Gold imports in 2021 rose 27.66% from 836.38 tons in 2019, it said in a statement.
The maximum amount of gold was imported from Switzerland at 469.66 tons, followed by the United Arab Emirates (120.16 tons), South Africa (71.68 tons) and Guinea (58.72 tons) in 2021, she added.
Next to China, India is by far the world’s largest importer and consumer of gold.
According to GJEPC Chairman Colin Shah, “About 1,067 tonnes of gold imports in 2021 can be attributed to the abnormal pandemic situation the year before, when imports plummeted to 430.11 tonnes.”
Over the past decade, India’s gold imports have come close to last year’s levels. For example, the amount of gold imported in 2021 is comparable to gold imports of 1,047 tons in 2015 and 1,032 tons in 2017, he said.
India’s average monthly gold imports in April-February of fiscal year 2021-22 was 76.57 tonnes, which is relatively in line with the average gold imports recorded in the same period in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
From April to February of this fiscal year, gold imports amounted to 842.28 tons, which is lower than usual imports in the same period, ie between 690 and 890 tons.
Overall, there is not much deviation in gold imported in January and February 2022 from average gold imports in volume and value over the same period over the previous three normal years – 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, GJEPC added.
In terms of exports, gold jewelry shipments from India grew by 50% to US$8,807.50 million in 2021 as demand for gold jewelry with studs soared.
Last year, the country exported $5,876.39 million worth of gold jewelry.
GJEPC said the industry is seeing a surge in exports and domestic sales of gold jewelry (plain and studded) post-pandemic.
Of the total exports, shipments of gold studded jewelry surged from US$2,508.26 million last year to US$5,078.83 million in 2021.
The export of pure gold jewelry rose to $3,728.66 million from $33,69.13 million, she noted.
The Chairman of the GJEPC said: “We are seeing a correction in the import/export of gold that has been impacted by the pandemic. In 2020, due to restrictions in major sourcing countries on gold imports, there was a shortage of yellow metal shipped to India. leading to a de-stocking of the country’s jewelry manufacturers.
In 2021, as restrictions were eased in various countries, disrupted gold supplies were corrected and jewelry makers in India were able to replenish depleted stocks, he added.
