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Gold imports more than doubled to a record high of $10.06 billion in August due to a huge cut in custom duty and festive demand. According to data released by the Commerce Ministry, gold imports stood at $4.93 billion in the same period a year ago. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, in his reaction to this record level of gold imports, said that customs duty rates on gold have been cut drastically to reduce gold smuggling and other activities.
India is the second largest consumer of gold
Barthwal said, “This is the time when jewelers start stocking their goods for sales during the festive season.” In the budget for the financial year 2024-25, the government had announced to reduce the duty from 15 percent to six percent. India’s gold imports declined by 4.23 percent to $ 12.64 billion in the first four months (April-July) of the current financial year. In the last financial year 2023-24, the country’s gold imports increased by 30 percent to $ 45.54 billion. India is the second largest consumer of gold in the world after China. This import mainly meets the demand of the jewelry industry.
Most gold imports from Switzerland
India imports the most gold from Switzerland, which has a share of about 40 percent. It is followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a share of more than 16 percent and South Africa with a share of about 10 percent. The share of this precious metal in the country’s total imports is more than five percent. The surge in gold imports widened the country’s trade deficit (the difference between imports and exports) to $ 29.65 billion in August.
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