By Anil Mathews

ScrapMonster Author

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 October this year.

Gold Bar Imports

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

The monthly import statistics indicate that the total gold bar imports by the country during October ‘16 amounted to Rs 1,973.77 crores (USD 295.70 Million). In rupee terms, the gold bar imports have increased by nearly 25% over the year. The jump in dollar terms stood at 22%. It must be noted that the country’s gold bar imports during October 2015 were valued at Rs 1,576.48 crores (USD 242.31 Million).

The October ’16 gold bar imports have declined when compared with the imports during the month before. The country’s gold bar imports had totaled Rs Rs 2,676.87 crores (USD 401.09 Million) in September this year.

The cumulative gold bar imports by the country during the initial seven months (Apr ’16 to Oct ’16) of the current fiscal year surged higher by 49.39% in rupee terms from Rs 12,765.63 crores (USD 1,987.95 Million) during April to October in 2015 to Rs 19,070.34 crores (USD 2,850.92 Million).

Silver Bar Imports

The GJEPC figures suggest significant rise in Silver bar imports by the country during the month of October this year. The country’s Silver bar imports during the month surged higher by nearly 39% upon comparison with the imports during the same month the year before.

The total Silver bar imports by the country in October this year amounted to INR 37.52 crores (USD 5.62 Million). In rupee terms, the Silver bar imports have jumped higher by 39.27% when matched with the previous year. The rise in dollar terms stood at 35.75%. It must be noted that the country’s Silver bar imports during October last year had totaled only INR 26.94 crores (USD 4.14 Million).

Also, silver bar imports by the country in October this year witnessed sharp decline when compared with the previous month. The imports were down by over 11% when compared with the previous month. The country’s Silver bar imports had totaled INR 42.20 crores (USD 6.32 Million) during August 2016.

The silver bar imports during the seven-month period from April to October this fiscal year totaled INR 235.04 crores (USD 35.13 Million)

Jewellery Imports

The imports of gold jewellery by the country during October this year have declined sharply by nearly 28.7% when compared with October ’15. The country’s gold jewellery imports during October this year totaled Rs 140.33 crores (USD 21.02 Million). During the same month in 2015, the country had imported gold jewellery worth Rs 196.68 crores (USD 30.23 Million).

Also, silver jewellery imports by the country during October this year tumbled by nearly 33.8% when matched with the previous year. The country’s Silver jewellery imports during October ‘16 totaled INR 19.29 crores (USD 2.89 Million). During same month a year before, the country had imported Silver jewellery worth INR 29.14 crores (USD 4.48 Million).

The GJEPC data also indicates that the imports of Colored Gemstones by the country totaled INR 737.84 crores (USD 110.54 Million) during October this year. The Synthetic Stones import totaled INR 47.43 crores (USD 7.11 Million). The imports of Pearls totaled INR 5.18 crores (USD 0.78 Million) during the month. Meantime, imports of platinum increased sharply from INR 10.83 crores (USD 1.66 Million) in October last year to INR 17.09 crores (USD 2.56 Million) in October 2016.

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.