GJEPC: Imports of Gold Bars Plunged Sharply In April

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 April 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 April ‘17 amounted to Rs 1,048.03 crores (USD 162.46 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have declined sharply by nearly 65% over the year. The decline in dollar terms stood at around 64%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during April 2016 were valued at Rs 3,174.57 crores (USD 477.59 Million).

The April ’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 1,999.87 crores (USD 303.56 Million) in March this year.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the previous fiscal year had remained nearly flat over the previous year. The imports remained more or less the same, increasing marginally from Rs 26,536.74 crores (USD 4,043.42 Million) during April ‘15 to March ’16 to Rs 27,626.59 crores (USD 4,123.13 Million) during FY ’17.

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures suggest significant decline in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of April this year. The country’s Silver bar imports during the month have dropped by nearly 38% upon comparison with the imports during the same month the year before.

The total Silver bar imports by the country in April 2017 amounted to INR 19.80 crores (USD 3.07 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have dropped considerably by 37.7% when matched with the previous year. The decline in dollar terms stood at 35.8%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports during April 2016 had totaled INR 31.76 crores (USD 4.78 Million).

Also, silver bar imports by the country in April this year declined modestly when compared with the previous month. The imports were down by nearly 2% when compared with the previous month. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 20.21 crores (USD 3.07 Million) during March 2017.

The silver bar imports during the previous fiscal year had totaled INR 322.08 crores (USD 48.06 Million).

Jewellery Imports

The imports of gold jewellery by the country during April this year have increased significantly by nearly 48% when compared with April ’16. The country’s gold jewellery imports during April this year totaled Rs 207.26 crores (USD 32.13 Million). During the same month in 2016, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 140.13 crores (USD 21.08 Million).

Also, silver jewellery imports by the country during April this year tumbled by nearly 19% when matched with the previous year. The country’s Silver jewellery imports during April ‘17 totaled INR 20.57 crores (USD 3.19 Million). During same month a year before, the country had imported Silver jewellery worth INR 25.24 crores (USD 3.80 Million).

The GJEPC data also indicates that the imports of Colored Gemstones by the country totaled INR 394.82 crores (USD 61.20 Million) during April this year. The Synthetic Stones import totaled INR 84.71 crores (USD 13.13 Million). The imports of Pearls surged higher to total INR 4,500.26 (USD 697.61 Million) during the month. Meantime, imports of Platinum inched lower from INR 14.27 crores (USD 2.15 Million) in April 2016 to INR 13.12 crores (USD 2.03 Million) in April 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.