GJEPC: India's gold bar imports plunged over 60% in January

NEW DELHI (Scrap Monster):  The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has released the details of imports and exports of raw materials for gems and jewellery for the month of January this year.

Gold Bar Imports

According to GJEPC data, the gold bar imports by the country during the month recorded significant decline when matched with the previous year.

The monthly import statistics indicate that the total gold bar imports by the country during January ‘17 amounted to Rs 718.29 crores (USD 105.51 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have declined sharply by nearly 60% over the year. The decline in dollar terms stood at nearly 60.5%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during January 2016 were valued at Rs 1,798.41 crores (USD 267.42 Million).

The January ’17 gold bar imports have dropped considerably when compared with the imports during the month before. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 2,483.97 crores (USD 365.83 Million) in December last year.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial ten months (Apr ’16 to Jan ’17) of the current fiscal year surged higher by nearly 25% in rupee terms from Rs 19,753.61 crores (USD 3,039.71 Million) during April to January last fiscal to Rs 24,673.85 crores (USD 3,677.96 Million).

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures suggest significant decline in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of January this year. The country’s Silver bar imports during the month have dropped by 10.6% upon comparison with the imports during the same month the year before.

The total Silver bar imports by the country in January 2017 amounted to INR 17.90 crores (USD 2.63 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have dropped considerably by 10.6% when matched with the previous year. The decline in dollar terms stood at 11.7%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports during January 2016 had totaled INR 20.02 crores (USD 2.98 Million).

Also, silver bar imports by the country in January this year remained more or less flat, rising marginally by witnessed modest decline when compared with the previous month. The imports were up slightly by nearly 1.6% when compared with the previous month. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 17.62 crores (USD 2.59 Million) during December 2016.

The silver bar imports during the ten-month period from April to January this fiscal year totaled INR 290.03 crores (USD 43.23 Million).

Jewellery Imports

The imports of gold jewellery by the country during January this year have increased by nearly 7.4% when compared with January ’16. The country’s gold jewellery imports during January this year totaled Rs 90.95 crores (USD 13.36 Million). During the same month in 2016, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 84.68 crores (USD 12.59 Million).

Also, silver jewellery imports by the country during January this year tumbled by nearly 20% when matched with the previous year. The country’s Silver jewellery imports during January ‘17 totaled INR 17.72 crores (USD 2.60 Million). During same month a year before, the country had imported Silver jewellery worth INR 214.71 crores (USD2.19 Million).

The GJEPC data also indicates that the imports of Colored Gemstones by the country totaled INR 907.33 crores (USD 133.27 Million) during January this year. The Synthetic Stones import totaled INR 48.52 crores (USD 7.13 Million). The imports of Pearls totaled INR 358.77 (USD 52.70 Million) during the month. Meantime, imports of Platinum edged higher from INR 9.08 crores (USD 1.35 Million) in January 2016 to INR 12.12 crores (USD 1.78 Million) in January last year.

About GJEPC

The GJEPC, set up by the by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India in 1966 is the apex body of the gems & jewellery industry. Headquartered in Mumbai, the industry body represents almost 6,000 exporters in the sector.