Gold Import Date: The country’s gold import during the first 11 months of the last financial year (April-February, 2023) decreased by about 30 percent to $ 31.8 billion. This information has been received from the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce. Gold imports have come down amid high customs duty rates and global economic uncertainties. It is noteworthy that the import of gold affects the current account deficit (CAD) of the country.
In the same period of the financial year 2021-22, the import of golden metal was $ 45.2 billion. Since August 2022, gold imports have remained negative. However, in the first 11 months of the last financial year, silver imports increased by 66 percent to $ 5.3 billion.
Decline in gold imports not visible on trade deficit
Despite the drastic fall in gold imports, it has not helped in reducing the country’s trade deficit. The difference between imports and exports is called trade deficit. The trade deficit is estimated to reach $247.52 billion in April-February, 2022-23. It was $ 172.53 billion in the same period of the previous financial year.
Why gold imports declined
According to industry experts, high import duty on gold and global economic uncertainties have led to a decline in its imports. In terms of quantity, the country imports 800-900 tonnes of gold annually. During the 11 months of the last financial year, gems and jewelery exports declined by 0.3 per cent to $35.2 billion. To control CAD, the government last year increased the import duty on gold from 10.75 per cent to 15 per cent.
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