The impact of the crisis in the Middle East is being seen in most of the sectors in India. The figures that have come out now are of gems and jewelery export. The industry's apex body GJEPC said on Tuesday that India's gems and jewelery exports declined by 35.23 percent to US $ 27,717.40 million (Rs 2,44,827.26 crore) in March this year. The main reason for this was the ongoing conflict in West Asia. According to Gems and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) data, total exports of gems and jewelery in March 2025 stood at US $ 28,669.53 million (Rs 2,42,559.39 crore).
GJEPC Chairman Kirit Bhansali said that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East had an impact on gems and jewelery exports in March, as logistics (freight movement) was affected. Even the diamond export parcels could not move forward. The risky conditions caused insurance premiums to skyrocket, further impacting shipments. Bhansali said that if policy support is given, this struggle can become an opportunity for India. India can become a big center of trade of rough diamonds. Bhansali said that UAE companies are showing keen interest in starting the business of rough diamonds in India. I think that with the cooperation of the government, we can make India a big center of business, because in the matter of polishing we are already a major center.” Since 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a major hub for the trade of rough diamonds, as access to India is quite easy from there.
Meanwhile, the total exports of gems and jewelery declined marginally by 3.32 percent to US $ 27,717.40 million (Rs 2,44,827.26 crore) in 2025-26. Whereas in FY 25 it was US $ 28,669.53 million (Rs 2,42,559.39 crore). Bhansali said that the impact of imposition of tariffs (import duties) by America was reduced to a great extent by GJEPC by exploring other markets. He further said that despite the decline in demand after the imposition of tariffs in the US and the slowdown in demand due to economic pressures in China, strong demand from markets like Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), UK and European Union (EU) helped in reducing this negative impact. Bhansali said that in the next 2-3 months, the council hopes that geopolitical tensions will subside. He further said that once geopolitical tensions subside, exports will increase. However, we will continue to explore new export markets.
Meanwhile, according to the data, total exports of cut and polished diamonds (CPD) saw a decline of 27.48 percent in March. It declined to $838.75 million (Rs 7,798.82 crore) as compared to $1,156.60 million (Rs 10,002.52 crore) in the same period last year. Total CPD exports fell by 8.52 percent to $12,159.83 million (Rs 1,07,461.34 crore) in FY26, while in 2024-25 it was $13,292.43 million (Rs 1,12,414.32 crore). According to provisional data from GJEPC, total gold jewelery exports remained almost stable in 2025-26. It stood at $11,364.32 million (Rs 1,00,277.64 crore) as compared to $11,367.42 million (Rs 96,254.5 crore) last year. However, silver jewelery exports increased by 52.21 percent in FY26. It increased to $1,467.47 million (Rs 13,013.54 crore) compared to last year's $964.10 million (Rs 8,135.78 crore).
