India’s Gold, Silver Bar Imports Tumbled in May

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 May 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 May ‘17 amounted to Rs 887.46 crores (USD 137.76 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have declined sharply by nearly 71.5% over the year. The decline in dollar terms stood at 70.4%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during May 2016 were valued at Rs 3,114.33 crores (USD 465.45 Million).

The May ’17 gold bar imports have declined considerably when compared with the imports during the month before. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs 1,048.03 crores (USD 162.46 Million) in April this year.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial two-month period (Apr ’17 to May ’17) of the current fiscal year declined sharply over the previous year. The imports plunged by nearly 68% from Rs 6,118.68 crores (USD 917.44 Million) during April ‘16 to May ‘16 to Rs 1,935.49 crores (USD 300.22 Million) during the corresponding two-month period this fiscal.

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures suggest marginal decline in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of May this year. The country’s Silver bar imports during the month have dropped by over 5% upon comparison with the imports during the same month the year before.

The total Silver bar imports by the country in May 2017 amounted to INR 19.27 crores (USD 2.99 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have dropped marginally by 5.07% when matched with the previous year. The decline in dollar terms stood at 1.32%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports during May 2016 had totaled INR 20.30 crores (USD 3.03 Million).

Also, silver bar imports by the country in May this year declined slightly when compared with the previous month. The imports were down marginally by nearly 2.7% when compared with the previous month. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 19.80 crores (USD 3.07 Million) during April 2017.

The silver bar imports during the first two months of the current fiscal year totaled INR 39.07 crores (USD 6.06 Million).

Jewellery Imports

The imports of gold jewellery by the country during May this year have declined by over 36% when compared with May ’16. The country’s gold jewellery imports during May this year totaled Rs 114.68 crores (USD 17.80 Million). During the same month in 2016, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 179.76 crores (USD 26.87 Million).

On the other hand, silver jewellery imports by the country during May this year increased marginally by nearly 1.2% when matched with the previous year. The country’s Silver jewellery imports during May ‘17 totaled INR 24.09 crores (USD 3.74 Million). During same month a year before, the country had imported Silver jewellery worth INR 23.80 crores (USD 3.56 Million).

The GJEPC data also indicates that the imports of Colored Gemstones by the country totaled INR 351.87 crores (USD 54.62 Million) during May this year. The Synthetic Stones import totaled INR 73.11 crores (USD 11.35 Million). The imports of Pearls edged lower to total INR 921.45 (USD 143.04 Million) during the month. Meantime, imports of Platinum inched higher from INR 12.42 crores (USD 1.86 Million) in May 2016 to INR 19.16 crores (USD 2.97 Million) in May this 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.