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India's MMTC to import 12% more gold, 30% more silver

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The Indian government's largest trading arm is likely to hike shipments of gold in the year to March 2012 by 12% to 265 tonnes, with silver too getting a boost to around 1,500 tonnes.

With demand for precious metals skyrocketing in India, the country's largest bullion supplier and the biggest trading arm of the government MMTC Ltd is eager to step up imports of gold and silver.

The state-run trading company called Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), expects to import around 275 tonnes of gold in 2011-12, as compared to the 245 tonnes that it brought in a year ago. As for silver, imports are expected to jump by around 30% to 1,200 plus tonnes during the same period.

India imported around 880 tonnes of silver in the last year, said an official.

``There is a rising demand here for gold. Given the volatile market conditions prevailing, the yellow metal's value as a safe haven has held strong,'' said MMTC marketing director Ved Kumar Prakash.

He added that the import of gold by MMTC in the current fiscal would jump by more than 40% given the brisk sales.

On an average, India buys more than 4,000 tonnes of silver and over 960 tonnes of gold annually.

The official pointed out brisk marketing had paid rich dividends and that sales of gold and silver ingots have made a mark in rural India, where MMTC and Indian Potash Ltd have forged a joint venture to popularise MMTC's brands of gold and silver items. The precious metals in jewellery form, ingots and medallions are to be sold across the country's semi urban and rural markets.

Indian Potash intends to use its cooperative network of fertiliser dealers across the rural and semi urban areas to sell MMTC jewellery items.

Several showrooms will soon follow in parts of Delhi, Patna and Lucknow, said the official. To keep up with the rising demand, MMTC has also doubled its import of gold at 45 tonnes during the April-June quarter of this year.

MMTC has earmarked year 2011-12 as the `year of retail' with the company planning to increase its jewellery outlets to 55 by the end of 2012. Currently, it has some 15 showrooms. The company also aims to increase its jewellery franchise base from 75 at present to 200 by the end of 2012.

Encouraged by sound business turnover in fiscal 2010-11, MMTC is also going ahead with product and market diversification moves meant to consolidate its core competence in bullion and non-ferrous metals.

source :- Mineweb
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Posted by Prashant Gandhi on 9 July, 2011 11:57:41 AM IST #