Export revenue of Indian diamantaires to drop by 10% in FY26 on US tariff

Export revenues of diamantaires are expected to decline by around 8-10 per cent in fiscal 2026. Calibrated inventory management across the value chain will support realisations… the future picture, according to Crisil. The US administration has imposed a 10 per cent additional tax on natural diamonds, which affects about one-third of India’s diamond exports. This will exacerbate the impact on Indian diamantaires from already-subdued demand and intensifying competition from lab-grown diamonds (LGDs). In the milieu, export revenues of diamantaires are expected to decline by around 8-10 per cent in fiscal 2026.

Calibrated inventory management across the value chain will support realisations, thus helping reduce the decline in export revenues, and limit the erosion of operating margins, helping contain the players’ financial leverage and credit metrics. Crisil analyzed 43 diamantaires, which account for nearly one-fourth of the industry revenue, to release the findings. In FY25, the export volumes of natural diamonds remained constrained by lower demand from China and competition from LGD in the US. Even as polishers pushed sales during the fourth quarter of the financial year in order to avoid tariffs while the price erosion was limited, revenues from natural diamond exports dropped by 17 per cent to around $13.3 million.