Gujarat sees gold and silver imports exceed pre-pandemic levels

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 4, 2022

The 2021 calendar year saw gold and silver imports to the state of Gujarat increase year-on-year and surpass pre-pandemic levels due to pent-up demand, previously postponed weddings, and investments. 

Gold imports into Gujarat increased by 123% year-on-year in 2021 to reach 42.1 metric tonnes compared to 18.8 metric tonnes in 2020, according to data released by the Ahmedabad Air Cargo Complex, accessed by TNN. The 2021 import total is also slightly higher than pre-pandemic 2019 which recorded a total of 41.79 metric tonnes of gold. 
 
Silver imports to Gujarat increased at an even greater rate to total 319.4 metric tonnes in 2021. This represents a seven fold increase compared to 2020 and a 1.5 fold increase compared to 2019, according to AACC. 

“Despite the handsome gains from equity markets, a section of investors kept their faith in gold as a safe haven,” India Bullion and Jewellers’ Association director Haresh Acharya told TNN. “This propelled the demand for both bullion and jewellery. Several people invested in sovereign gold bonds and gold exchange traded funds as well which is not accounted for in the physical imports of gold… That apart, jewellery demand remained bullish too.”
 
Other factors which contributed to investors embracing gold in 2021 included low interest rates at banks and the relatively stable gold price throughout the year. The 2021 Union budget’s reduction of import duty on gold from 12.5% to 7.5% also helped to boost sales and this contributed to an improvement of employment opportunities in the sector.