Author: VR Jayaraj
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: May 2, 2009
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/173453/10-tonne-gold-sold-in-Kerala-on-Akshaya-Trithiya.html
Recession and higher costs failed to deter
Keralites from collecting gold ornaments in tons this Akshaya Trithiya as
they bought more than 22 per cent of the total gold sold in the country on
that day, April 27.
Malayalees had begun observing Akshaya Thrithiya,
believed to be the most appropriate day for buying valuables, only five years
ago, but they have surpassed the societies that had been observing it traditionally
in buying gold. The belief is that buying valuables on Akshaya Trithiya would
make the buyer's whole year prosperous.
The total gold sold on this Akshaya Trithiya
was to the tune of 45 tons and ten tons of this was sold in Kerala. Gold merchants
in Kochi said that they had feared a fall in the sales this year despite their
huge campaigns but the fears had been proven wrong. The value of the gold
sold on the single day was approximately Rs 1,400 crore.
As per the World Gold Council estimates, there
had been a fall by eight per cent in the sales on Akshaya Trithiya nationally,
but market-watchers said the sales this year had literally surprised them
as the gold buyers, especially those in Kerala, had disregarded the worldwide
recession and the higher cost of the yellow metal. The cost of gold, which
stood at around Rs 10,000 a sovereign during Akshaya Thrithiya last year,
was nearly ten per cent higher this year.
The World Gold Council figures say that nearly
49 tons of the metal was sold nationally for Akshaya Trithiya last year, but
experts in the field point out that this could not be considered a higher
figure in comparison to this year's figures as the Akshaya Trithiya was observed
on two days in 2008.
The four South Indian States account for almost
60 per cent of the total gold sales in the country on Akshaya Trithiya. Traditionally,
the people of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are considered to be the biggest
buyers of the yellow metal on this day but, according to gold sector experts,
Kerala is fast surpassing them in this.
They say Kerala had bought almost 40 per cent
of the total gold sold in South India this Akshaya Trithiya despite the fact
that the Malayalees had begun to observe this day only five years ago. Gold
merchants in Kochi said that they had expected the sales to show a fall by
20 to 40 per cent compared to last year but the people had responded well
to the promotion campaigns of the World Gold Council and by the individual
jewellery showrooms.
The average volume of legitimate gold business
in Kerala could be anywhere around Rs 15,000 crore, though traders themselves
say that the exact amount would never be known. According to some informal
estimates, this could come to as high as Rs 25,000 crore.
Malayalees are known for their affinity to
the yellow metal. The amount they spend to buy gold is almost ten times that
spent on buying rice, their staple food. Gold merchants say that despite recession,
the habit of Malayalees' spending as far as gold is concerned is getting more
and more intense. An average middle class family could have married away its
girl with gold worth Rs 10 lakh a year ago, but this had now gone up to a
minimum of Rs 15 lakh.
Gold had been selling at Rs 1,400 a sovereign
25 years ago. At the turn of the millennium gold price had stood at Rs 3,000
per eight grams here. On January 1 last, gold was selling in Kerala at Rs
9,856 a sovereign but on December 7 last it had touched the unimaginable mark
of Rs 10,000. Since then it climbed steadily till the end of February after
which there had been a small fall in price.
