GJEPC targets $50m in New Zealand as trade pact takes effect
India's gem and jewellery exports to New Zealand were $25.43 million in FY2025-26, the export council says. New Zealand's foreign ministry says the agreement entered into force on 20 October.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Duty-free access starts. The India-New Zealand free trade agreement entered into force on 20 October, New Zealand's foreign ministry says. GJEPC aims to double exports to $50 million within two years.
What it means
- If you export gold jewellery to New Zealand: GJEPC says duty-free access is open and plans buyer-seller meets.
- If you judge the target: It needs about 40% growth a year on Carat Capital's arithmetic. Exports grew about 50% last year.
- What this is not: A large market. The whole trade is about $25 million.
Key figures
| Export targetwithin two years | $50m |
|---|---|
| FY2025-26 exportsto New Zealand | $25.43m |
| FY2024-25 exportsGJEPC, 27 August | $16.91m |
| Yearly growth neededCarat Capital's arithmetic | 40% |
Source: GJEPC release, dated 21 October 2026. FY2024-25 figure from GJEPC's 27 August 2026 release. Entry-into-force date from New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The pact is live
Signed in April. India and New Zealand signed the free trade agreement on 27 April 2026. It had not entered into force when the August figures came out.
Exporters named. GJEPC says Malabar Gold & Diamonds and Jewelex in Mumbai, Emerald Jewel in Chennai and Hasmukh Parekh in Kolkata shipped gold jewellery. SRK shipped cut and polished diamonds.
Silver filigree too. Padmesh Industries of Odisha shipped GI-tagged silver filigree jewellery, the council says.
| Period | Exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024-25 | $16.91m | Base year |
| FY2025-26 | $25.43m | +50.4% |
| Target, two years on | $50m | +40.2% a year |
25.43 / 16.91 = 1.504, a 50.4% rise. 50 / 25.43 = 1.966; its square root is 1.402, so about 40.2% a year for two years. GJEPC calls the target a doubling. GJEPC's 27 August release gave FY2025-26 as $25.46m; the 21 October release gives $25.43m, which is used here.
Gold jewellery carries the trade
Gold led last year. In August, GJEPC put gold jewellery at $17.47 million of the FY2025-26 total, up 84%.
Last year grew faster. Doubling in two years needs about 40% growth a year, on Carat Capital's arithmetic. Exports grew about 50% in FY2025-26 without the agreement.
What to watch
- Not datedGJEPC's buyer-seller meets in New Zealand, and which exporters take part.
- MonthlyGJEPC's country figures, the first to show trade under the agreement.
- Two years onWhether exports reach the $50 million target.
The story so far
Go deeper
Corrections
Correction, 23 October 2026: an earlier version of this article said the India-New Zealand free trade agreement entered into force on 21 October. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it entered into force on 20 October 2026, the date India's commerce minister had also given. Where the error came from: GJEPC's release, dated 21 October, says the agreement 'enters into force today', and that date was printed without reading the two governments' pages. What was right as published: every export figure and the arithmetic. Two wordings also changed: 'First shipments named' is now 'Exporters named', because the release does not say the shipments were the first, and the target is no longer called modest. Found by Carat Capital's standards desk on 22 October 2026.
What would change this call
A first year under the agreement with growth below last year's 50%. Then duty-free access is not what drove the trade.
How the figures are counted
GJEPC is India's government-backed gem and jewellery export council. It publishes exports by country and product from Indian trade data, on India's April-to-March fiscal year. These are the council's figures on its own trade.
Method
GJEPC release, 'India-New Zealand FTA Enters into Force; Targets US$ 50 Million in Exports in the Next Two Years', dated 'Oct 21, 2026', fetched 22 October 2026, 200, 34,653 bytes. Greps in the release: 'enters into force today' 1, 'US$ 25.43 million' 1, 'US$ 50 million' 2, 'double' 2, 'Malabar' 1, 'SRK' 1, 'Padmesh' 1. GJEPC's 27 August release, reported here on 28 August, gave $25.46m for FY2025-26, $16.91m for FY2024-25 and $17.47m for gold jewellery; the 21 October release does not say why the total moved by $0.03m. The release says the agreement 'enters into force today'. New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade page, fetched 06:05 EDT 23 October 2026, 200 after a redirect, 60,170 bytes, reads 'entered into force on 20 October 2026' (1 hit), and India's commerce minister gave 20 October in September. The date printed is the ministry's; GJEPC's 'today' is its release date. The release does not give New Zealand's previous duty on jewellery, so no tariff saving is printed. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: Carat Capital's archive, 'New Zealand' '25.46' 1 row, opened: the 28 August report covers the same fiscal year before the agreement took effect. New event and new target. ADVANCED.