The statement that Indians love gold has now officially turned into reality. According to a recent report, India is not only the most populous country in the world but also now a major hub of gold jewellery fanatics.
The latest report of ‘Jewellery Demand and Trade’ released last week by the World Gold Council reveals that India is the second largest gold jewellery consumer in the world, buying a whopping total of 611 tonnes of gold jewellery in 2021.
The only country beating India’s gold jewellery consumption is the world’s second largest economy China, which purchased 673 tonnes of jewellery (gold) in the year.
In consumption of gold jewellery in India, the bridal jewellery market dominates the said landscape, covering almost 55% of the market share in the country even though exports of gold jewellery jumped to USD 12.4 billion in 2019 from USD 7.6 billion in the year 2015.
According to the ‘Jewellery Demand and Trade’ report, the authentic 22-carat gold accounts for 80-85% of the Indian jewellery share, while the 18-carat gold jewellery market is expanding too.
It must be added here that the largest gold jewellery consumer in India comes from the rural region of the country, which constitutes 55-58% of the market share, while middle class India is the primary consumer of gold.
Further, the highest gold jewellery consumption in the country is concentrated in southern India, which makes up for 40% of the total demand in India, while the jewellery in everyday wear accounts for 40-45% of the market share, stated the report.
“India is a strong pillar of support for the global gold markets as the second-largest consumer of gold jewellery. While weddings and festivals act as important drivers of jewellery demand, our rich cultural heritage and historic status as a major global force in world commerce underpins this strong socio-economic relationship with gold,” said the regional CEO of India, World Gold Council, Somasundaram PR.
