Jewellers start melting new ornaments to pare inventory as recession bites

Scrap supply likely to reach 140 tonne in CY20, as against 119 tonne last year

Jewellers have started melting ornaments to reduce inventory, with the steep economic slowdown hurting them hard. With this, they are also suffering a 100 per cent loss on the making cost of jewellery.

Usually, jewellers only melt old ornaments, which they receive in exchange when they sell new jewellery or from other sources.

Many jewellers had been holding inventory to give customers choices. But with jewellery sales being thin in the current economic environment and changing customer preferences, the cost of holding inventory has become "unbearable", they said.