Supply of silver falls short due to import control

Kathmandu December 22- The bullion market is low on silver due to restriction on imports, said traders. Silver imports dropped 71.3 percent in the first four months of the fiscal year, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC).

Nepal imported Rs3.08 billion worth of the metal during the review period, down from Rs10.73 billion during the same period last year. In FY 2014-15, silver imports stood at Rs24.7 billion.
The slowdown in silver imports follows instructions by NRB to commercial banks to stop buying the precious metal due to concerns over high levels of imports in recent years.

Although the government has imposed a quota on the import of gold, no limit has been set for silver imports. Handicraft makers said that they had not been able to produce adequate quantities of silver jewellery and handicrafts due to a shortage of silver and other raw materials. Nepal’s silver handicrafts are in high demand in the international market and domestic demand has been soaring, said traders.
 

Silver jewellery exports to third countries jumped 70.2 percent to Rs61.4 million in the first four months of 2015-16, according to NRB. The daily requirement of silver stands at 300-400 kg, Fenegosida said. As per the data of the last fiscal year, an average of 1,300 kg of the metal was imported daily.