Mumbai: The gems and jewellery industry is staring at a sales washout on Akshaya Tritiya for the second consecutive year as most of the states are under lockdowns due to the raging second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to negative consumer sentiment, say industry leaders.
Akshaya Tritiya, considered as an auspicious day for buying gold and jewellery, falls on May 14 this year.
India is the worst-hit among all nations with the second wave of the pandemic, which has been killing more than 3,500 daily and infecting over 3 lakhs daily for weeks. The massive caseload has nearly paralysed the medical infrastructure.
"With almost 90 per cent of the states under lockdowns to curb the infections, retail jewellery stores are closed and no delivery is allowed. So, we are expecting a near washout of this Akshaya Tritiya as well," All-India Gems & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) chairman Ashish Pethe told PTI.
He said last year, at least bookings were taking place through online and telephones, however, this year they are also limited as being in the non-essential category there is no possibility of any delivery, he opined.
Pethe said the only silver lining for this fiscal is that even though most weddings, which got postponed to this year and are taking place in lines with the current lockdown guidelines, most wedding jewellery purchases were already done before the lockdowns were announced.
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Echoing his views, Pankaj Arora, National Convener of All India Jewelers and Goldsmith Federation (AIJGF) said: “In 2019, there was a sale of more than Rs 10,000 crores on Akshya Tritiya. However, last year sales on Akshaya dipped to Rs 500 crore due to lockdown restrictions.”
“This year jewellery traders across the country had set high hopes for good business on Akshaya Tritiya but their will not be a special trade for gold and jewellery amid lockdowns,” he told in a statement shared with ETV Bharat.
Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman told PTI that this year the business during Akshaya Tritiya is likely to be the same as last year due to the pandemic.
"Out of our 150 showrooms across the country, only 10-15 are open. We expect some movement on our gold ownership certificate, which we launched last year," he added.
This situation is likely to improve gradually in another 3-4 weeks, he added.
Precious metals trading platform Augmont Director Ketan Kothari also said that physical demand for gold would remain muted during these uncertain times.
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However, he is of the opinion that those Indians who buy gold on auspicious days like Akshaya Tritiya, Navratri, and Dhanteras are likely to return to buying the precious metal as prices are currently trading 20 per cent lower than the record high of Rs 58,000 per 10 grams in August 2020.
If not in huge quantities, then certainly in auspicious token amount, he added.
Currently, the gold price is hovering at Rs 48,700-49,000 per 10 grams.
(With Agency Inputs)
