The Gold business in Kerala is centered in Thrissur and is a major revenue earner for the economy of the state. Approximately half a tone of gold jewellery is manufactured every year in the small state of Kerala. The majority of this comes from Thrissur, making the city a hub of gold business and gold jewellery manufacturing in the whole of South India iteself.
Thrissur's destiny with gold started a long way back with Roman and Arab traders anchoring in the lost port city of Muziris in Kodungallur.
The de-regulated gold sector offered a huge opportunity for businesspersons from Thrissur and India. Some of the goldsmiths turned in to businessman and later into wholesale dealers of gold jewellery. But majority of the traditional goldsmith families next generation opted out from this old profession. This lead to the coming in of unskilled workers. However that change was short-lived. Craftsmen from West Bengal and Orissa were the main attraction in 2000 because of their skills.
