Kerala is the state with the highest gold purchase, and it's no surprise that it's also the epicentre of gold smugling in India. The senzure of smuggled gold in the state between April and October this Year tell their own tale - 29 kg by customs at Calicut International Airport, 16 kg by the customs at Kochi International Airport, 36kg by customs (priventive) and 12 kg by the Directorate revenue Intelligence.
The Economics of Gold smuggling. Why Kerala....??
In 2012, India imported
850 tonnes of gold. The estimated demand for the metal in 2013 is
99 tonnes. so far, India has imported around
400 tonnes. Much of the remaining is likely to be made up for through smuggling.
Can you guess..?? How much do smugglers earn.? A havala agent spelt out the numbers. The price of gold keeps flectuating but, say, one a given day, the price of single kilo( of the pure 24-carat veriety) is 26.30 lakh. The smuggler, in consultation with his indian counter part. would set it's 'landing price' in India at around 30 lakh, thus making an overall profit of 3.70 lakh per kg. At global price of 26.30 lakh, the minimum cost fore those buying gold through official channels in India would be over 31 lakh per kg, so there are handsome commissions to be made even at the retailer level. Of course, the smuggler has to foot the carrier's expenses-primarily, the air ticket to India and back, which cost around rs 30000 only and pay the carrier's commission of (Rs 17,000) per kg. Then net profit is thus about Rs 3.20 lakh on the first kg of gold. If the carrier takes more than a kg, the net profit higher. Insideres reveal the around RS 200 crore enters India dialy through hawala channels from the gulf, around 70 per cent of which is now used for gold smuggling.
