Gold imports fell by 10% due to Jewellers' strike in India: MMTC

Gold imports fell by 10% in 2016, majorly due to jewellers shutting shops in the last month of the fiscal, state-owned gold and silver refiner MMTC said on Friday.

“Gold imports fell to 950 tonnes in 2015-16 from 1,050 tonnes in financial year 2014-15,” MMTC Chairman and Managing Director Ved Prakash told reporters after the launch of Tola, an octagonal shaped coin with distinctive knurled edges and an intricate finish, weighing 11.6638 grams in 999.9 pure gold on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya.

Tola, a re-conceptualisation of the traditional Vedic measure of the yellow metal, has been launched by MMTC-PAMP, a joint venture between public sector MMTC and Swedish processor PAMP.

Tola will initially be available for purchase at select outlets of Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL), Indian Potash and MMTC-PAMP retail outlets. Some jewellers in cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Salem, Delhi, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Gandhinagar and Hyderabad too will sell the product, MMTC said.

MMTC’s gold imports were down at 50 tonnes in 2015-16 from 70 tonnes in the previous year. Gold imports fell 67% last month, as jewellers downed their shutters opposing 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery.

Gold imports declined to 19.6 tonnes in April, against 60 tonnes in the year-ago period, according to MMTC Pamp. Jewellers’ strike began from March 2 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery. The strike continued more than 40 days.