The Impact of Gold Imports on Growth.

There is not much good news on the export front, due largely to the global debt crisis. But things have improved on the import front. We are importing less, because imports are getting more expensive. In particular, our gold imports have dramatically declined. In part, this is due to increased taxes on gold imports, and in part it is due to higher gold prices. According to the latest reports, gold imports have fallen around 50% from a year ago. This means we are importing half as much gold as before.
How will this help growth? Consider the following: Last year, our gold imports represented approximately 3.5% of total GDP. As imports are a drag on growth, this effectively means that gold imports result in a 3.5% subtraction in GDP. Thus, if gold imports fell to 2.5% of GDP, then we'd see an increase in growth of 1% as a result.
Now it makes sense why having lower gold imports is good for GDP growth. If as projected our gold consumption declines by half, this could add between 1% and 2% to our GDP growth rate, as compared with the previous year. This is a very large number, considering that it is a single commodity.
When GDP growth comes out for April-June, we should see the positive impact of lower gold imports. Of course, this does not mean that growth will necessarily go up, simply because other factors also affect growth and they could be stronger than the impact of the reduction in gold imports.