India’s gross gems and jewellery exports rose 9.43% year-on-year to $2.95 billion in September 2026, while imports increased 25.48% to $2.08 billion, according to provisional data released by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
The increase in exports was led by gold jewellery and polished lab-grown diamonds, even as exports of cut and polished natural diamonds and silver jewellery declined during the month.
Cumulative exports during April-September 2026 grew 3.07% to $14.30 billion, compared with $13.88 billion in the corresponding period last year. Imports during the six-month period rose 5.29% to $11.05 billion from $10.49 billion a year earlier.
Gold jewellery and lab-grown diamonds drive exports
Gold jewellery exports rose 34.01% year-on-year to $1.19 billion in September. Studded gold jewellery exports increased 50.24% to $812.62 million, while exports of plain gold jewellery grew 8.76% to $378.03 million.
For April-September, gold jewellery exports rose 11.37% to $6.23 billion. Within this category, studded gold jewellery exports grew 31.31% to $3.69 billion, while plain gold jewellery exports declined 8.81% to $2.53 billion.
Exports of polished lab-grown diamonds increased 40.72% to $151.43 million in September. During April-September, exports of the category rose 17.08% to $685.10 million.
The increase in lab-grown diamond exports was also reflected in volumes. Exports of worked lab-grown diamonds rose 26.46% to 101.77 lakh carats during April-September.
Natural diamond exports decline in value
Exports of cut and polished natural diamonds fell 5.44% year-on-year to $1.29 billion in September. For April-September, exports declined 6.96% to $5.81 billion.
However, export volumes of cut and polished diamonds rose 4.64% to 83.98 lakh carats during the six-month period, indicating that the decline in export value was accompanied by higher volumes.
Imports of cut and polished diamonds rose 22.92% to $152.33 million in September. Cumulatively, imports increased 45.52% to $824.20 million during April-September.
Imports of rough diamonds rose 15.14% to $1.05 billion in September. In volume terms, imports increased 65.65% to 130.17 lakh carats during the month.
The trend was different over the six-month period. Rough diamond imports declined 16.81% in value to $5 billion during April-September, even as import volumes rose 16.47% to 592.24 lakh carats.
Silver jewellery exports fall in September
Silver jewellery exports declined 12.49% year-on-year to $134.46 million in September. However, cumulative exports during April-September rose 23.10% to $729.32 million.
Exports of platinum jewellery increased 1.27% to $22.97 million in September and rose 15.75% to $123.29 million during April-September.
Exports of coloured gemstones declined 7.44% to $74.94 million in September. For the April-September period, exports fell 3.8% to $227.55 million.
Industry outlook
Commenting on the September performance, Colin Shah, managing director of Kama Jewelry, said the increase in exports was encouraging amid geopolitical tensions and economic volatility. He attributed the trend partly to domestic festive demand and the holiday season in Western markets.
Shah also said upcoming free trade agreements (FTAs) could help Indian exporters diversify their markets and manage the impact of US tariffs.