May 25: The import of gold has declined in the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May). This has been attributed to the consequences of lockdown implemented in order to keep coronavirus infection in check. This fact was unveiled after the Department of Customs released data of the last ten months of the current fiscal year.

According to the data, gold worth Rs 1.75 billion was imported in the review month which is less than the average monthly import. Before the review month, import of gold amounted to an average of Rs 2.14 billion per month. In the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) alone, import of gold worth Rs 3.2 billion was been recorded.

Talking about the quantity, 258 kg of gold was imported in the review month. Since mid-April to mid-May is the wedding season, import of gold is especially high. However, this time, the import had to be reduced due to the prohibitory order, said Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepalese Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association.

“Since April is the wedding season, the number of customers is also high. But after the implementation of the prohibitory order, the business of gold jewelries went downhill,” said Shakya, adding, “This caused a decline in import of gold. Gold has not been imported at all since April 25.”

In Nepal, only commercial banks hold the right to import gold. But these banks have been importing gold only upon the recommendation of the federation. The federation has instructed banks to halt the import of gold since the business is not doing well because of the restrictions.

Nepal has imported gold worth Rs 21.68 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. During this period, 3,018 kg of gold has been imported into the country.

But, in comparison to the same period of last year, the import of gold has increased by 57 percent. As of mid-April last year, only 2,400 kg of gold worth Rs 13.46 billion had been imported.

During the review period of the current fiscal year, Nepal imported gold worth Rs 2.12 billion from Turkey and Rs 18.94 billion from the UAE.