‘India is strong pillar of support for global gold market’: World Gold Council

India, which is the world's second-largest consumer of gold, has witnessed a growing demand for lightweight and studded jewellery, the World Gold Council said. The global body called India a 'strong pillar of support for the global gold markets'.

The gold jewellery exports in India have grown from $7.6 billion in 2015 to $12.4 billion in 2019. Bridal jewellery dominates the gold jewellery landscape, enjoying 50-55% of the market share in India.

Further, the report said that plain gold jewellery maintains 80-85% of the market share, the majority of which is 22-carat although the market for 18-carat jewellery is growing. Daily wear jewellery accounts for 40-45% of the market.

Plain gold jewellery exports accounted for 38% of gold jewellery exports from India in 2021.

Over the last decade, nearly 90% of India's jewellery exports have flowed to just five major markets: namely, the UAE, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UK, reported World Gold Council.

South India dominates Indian gold jewellery consumption, accounting for 40% of the country's total jewellery demand.

Apart from gold, India has a sizeable and vibrant silver jewellery market and is the world's largest fabricator of silver jewellery, reported Asian Lite International.

According to a 2019 survey on the gold market in India, carried out by Hall & Partners, 60% of the women surveyed owned gold jewellery, followed by 57% owned silver jewellery, and only 26% owned diamond jewellery in the country.

Meanwhile, Platinum jewellery did not appear among the top purchases by female consumers, as this market is still in its infancy in India.

Notably, India was the largest consumer of gold before being overtaken by China in 2009. In 2021 India bought 611t of gold jewellery, second only to China (673t) but comfortably ahead of all other gold-consuming markets, a recent World Gold Council report revealed.