India's first UK jewellery export consignment under FTA: $10 million shipped, zero-duty access boosts industry

Kolkata: India’s gems and jewellery industry on Wednesday flagged off its first export consignment to the United Kingdom under the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), with 27 exporters shipping jewellery worth $10 million from six major manufacturing centres.

The inaugural shipment comprises gold, diamond, silver and platinum jewellery from companies across Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, Jaipur and Chennai. Industry estimates suggest the agreement could more than triple India’s gems and jewellery exports to the UK over the next three years.

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The agreement, which came into force on Wednesday, provides zero-duty access to nearly 99% of India’s gems and jewellery exports to the UK by removing import tariffs of up to 4%. The domestic industry expects the tariff elimination to significantly enhance its competitiveness in the UK, which imports nearly $4 billion worth of jewellery annually.

“The first jewellery export consignment to the United Kingdom under the India-UK FTA is a defining milestone for India’s gem and jewellery industry," said Kirit Bhansali, chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. “With zero-duty market access, we expect India’s gem and jewellery exports to the UK to grow from around $754 million in 2025 to nearly $2.5 billion over the next three years.”

The operationalisation of the India-UK trade pact comes at a time when domestic exporters are grappling with tariff uncertainties in the US, their largest market. Higher US tariffs and the absence of a bilateral trade agreement have raised concerns over pricing competitiveness and order flows, prompting exporters to diversify into alternative markets. Industry executives believe preferential access to the UK will partly offset the headwinds by opening a stable, high-value market with duty-free access and reducing dependence on a single export destination.

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Apart from boosting exports, the agreement is expected to deliver broad-based gains across India’s gems and jewellery value chain by attracting fresh investments, creating employment, promoting skill development and strengthening the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises, artisans and jewellery designers. It also seeks to improve ease of doing business through self-certification, business-friendly rules of origin and mechanisms to address non-tariff barriers.

The benefits are expected to extend across multiple product categories, including gold jewellery, diamond jewellery, coloured gemstone jewellery, platinum jewellery, silver jewellery, pearls and lab-grown diamond jewellery.

Major manufacturing clusters such as Surat, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Thrissur are expected to benefit from improved access to the UK market, helping India strengthen its position in the global gems and jewellery trade.