In this fiscal, Nepal has exported gold jewelry worth Rs 84.1 million to the US and Rs 20.9 million to Australia.
According to Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, the export of jewelry has been affected especially due to the shortage of raw gold in the country. With forex reserves depleting, the Nepal Rastra Bank in the last fiscal year resorted to slashing the gold import limits from daily 20 kg to 10 kg. Bullion traders, however, said that 10 kg of gold is not enough to meet the domestic demand. "There is not enough gold available in the market to produce jewelry for export purposes," said Shakya. According to Shakya, when the import limit was reduced, importers of precious metals were told that jewelry exporters would be allowed to import gold separately or special arrangements would be made for them. " However, no such arrangement was made," said Shakya, adding, "As a result, the export of gold jewelry has been badly affected." Bullion traders said the demand for gold jewelry is huge among Nepalis living abroad. "The demand for original jewelry from Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) has been increasing. However, the demand could not be fulfilled due to a lack of gold," said Shakya. "If the export of gold jewelry is increased, the country's foreign exchange income would also increase." Gold imports down by 50 percent With the central bank reducing the import limit, the overall import of yellow metal has also decreased by 50 percent. Nepal has imported gold worth Rs 10.95 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Such import during the same period of the last fiscal was Rs 22.03 billion. According to Customs Department data, a total of 1,516 kgs of gold has been imported in this fiscal compared to 3,188 kgs in the last fiscal year.
