Kolkata Launched India-UK CETA's First Jewellery Export Consignment to the UK

News Desk, News Nation 360: On July 15, 2026, the Kolkata Air Cargo Complex celebrated the immediate implementation of the historic India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) by formally flagging off the eastern region's first fine jewellery export consignment to the United Kingdom. Jais Jewellery, Modern Impex, L. Gopal & Sons, AB Jewels, JS Jewels, and Hasmukh Parekh Jewellers were among the elite group of local manufacturing powerhouses in Kolkata's first shipment, which was part of a coordinated $10 million nationwide launch spanning major industrial hubs like Mumbai, Surat, and Jaipur. The shipment was sent under a new zero-duty trade framework that immediately eliminates previous UK import tariffs of up to 4%. West Bengal Industry & Commerce Minister Shri Tapas Roy, Customs Member Shri Yogendra Garg, Additional DGFT Shri Chandra Kant Mishra, British Deputy High Commissioner Dr Andrew Fleming, GJEPC Eastern Regional Chairman Shri Pankaj Parekh, and SHEFEXIL Executive Director Dr Debjani Roy were among the distinguished diplomatic and administrative delegation that attended the high-profile ceremony. Driven by national GJEPC Chairman Shri Kirit Bhansali's prediction that zero-duty access will aggressively compound India's gem and jewellery exports to the UK from $754 million to an astounding $2.5 billion over the next three years, this Free Trade Agreement is poised to act as a massive economic catalyst for West Bengal, promoting high-volume value-added manufacturing, opening up significant foreign investment, and creating numerous job opportunities for thousands of specialised local MSMEs, designers, and legacy artisans in the region.

Pic: Krishnendu Kundu