Keyur Shah, CEO, Muthoot Exim

Muthoot Exim aims to attract 3 tonnes of gold, worth ₹4,500 crore (as per current gold rates), for recycling over the next two years as it expands its outlets to 200 from 109 currently.

Muthoot Gold Point, the collection centre of the Muthoot Pappachan Group, collected 1 tonne of gold worth about ₹1,500 crore last fiscal for recycling, up from 600 kgs collected in FY’25.

According to the World Gold Council (WGC), gold recycling increased 44 per cent in the first quarter of this year against the fourth quarter of 2025. Year-on-year, recycling was up 20 per cent. Consumers exchanged old gold jewellery for new pieces, and this increased in the first quarter as the price of the precious metal soared to a new high.

Given the growing demand, the company targets to open an additional 50 outlets this fiscal, especially in smaller cities and collect about 2 tonnes of gold for recycling.

Recycled 5 tonnes

Keyur Shah, CEO, Muthoot Exim, said the transparency the point centre brings, including checking the purity of gold jewellery through an XRF machine, buyback price based on IBJA and MCX rates, and the declaration of a 3 per cent service charge upfront, has been the unique selling proposition.

While jewellers also buy back gold, they usually push consumers to buy new jewellery, and their rates also vary between jewellers. In fact, most consumers check buyback rates and enquire across jewellers, but ultimately settle with the Gold Point Centre because it is more profitable for them, he claimed.

Till now, Muthoot Gold Point has recycled nearly 5 tonnes of old gold from over 55,000 customers, with around 40 per cent of customers returning for repeat transactions.

The company sources gold directly from consumers, which is then refined and reintroduced into the domestic market as 24K pure gold that can be supplied to jewellery and coin manufacturers.

Duty hike

The process will help reduce the need for new mining activities, while supporting the domestic gold supply chain and promoting responsible gold consumption, he said.

According to the WGC, gold supply increased by 2 per cent in the first quarter, boosted by increased mine production and recycling. Globally, recycling rose 5 per cent to 366 tonnes during January-March this year.

Early this month, the Government doubled the customs duty on gold to 10 per cent and raised the agriculture, infrastructure and development cess to 5 per cent from one per cent. This led to an increase in overall gold import duty to 15 per cent, a level that prevailed in 2022.

Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi nudged consumers to avoid gold purchases for a year to preserve the foreign exchange reserves of the country. The current account deficit is already strained by hefty oil imports amid sharp rupee depreciation.

India consumes 700-800 tonnes of gold annually, and over 90 per cent of it is imported.

Q1 imports up 58%

Gold imports into the country increased 58 per cent in the March quarter to 186 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council data.

Imports averaged 83 tonnes in the first two months this year, well above the monthly average of 53 tonnes in 2025. Gold ETF demand in January alone accounted for 16 per cent of monthly imports. Recycled gold in Q1 at 31 tonnes was up 20 per cent year-on-year and 44 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Published on May 28, 2026