India's gems and jewellery exports dropped to their lowest level in five years during the 2025–26 fiscal year, declining 3.3% to $27.72 billion — a figure not seen since 2020–21, when pandemic lockdowns severely disrupted global trade. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the sector's main trade body, attributed the slump largely to a near-halving of shipments to the United States, India's largest buyer, as American tariffs and import duties weighed heavily on demand. The decline underscores the broader vulnerability of one of India's key export industries to shifts in US trade policy.