New Delhi: Free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Australia have provided much-needed fillip to engineering exports, with shipments to both nations rising 9% in the April–August period of the current financial year, even as overall engineering exports nosedived during the period, data released by EEPC India on Friday showed.
Engineering exports to the UAE in the April–August period of FY24 increased 9% year-on-year to $2.24 billion. In the same period, engineering exports to Australia also jumped 9% year-on-year and stood at $596.14 million as compared to $548.62 million in the April–August period of FY23.
Overall engineering exports in the April-August period of 2023–24 dropped 4.55% to $44.62 billion as against $46.74 billion in the April-August period of 2022–23.
Notably, engineering exports to Russia surged 178% year-on-year to $568.41 million in the April–August period of FY24. In the same period last year, engineering exports to Russia were $204.17 million.
Engineering exports to the US, India’s top market, fell 14% year-on-year in the April-August period of the current financial year.
“Engineering exports to the UAE and Australia have been beneficial. Our exports to both the two major markets rose 9% in the April–August period of FY24. At this point, we urge the government to think about more such FTAs not only with our traditional partners but also with our non-traditional markets in Latin America and Africa,” said EEPC India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia.
EEPC India said that the current fiscal situation has so far been tough for engineering exports as the global slowdown has affected some of India’s major partners, including the USA and European countries.
“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also been ongoing, and China has faced an economic slowdown. All these factors have significantly affected India’s engineering export demand,” it said.
On cumulative terms, 19 out of 34 engineering panels recorded positive growth during April–August 2023–24 over the same period last fiscal.
Engineering panels that witnessed growth in exports include copper and products, lead and tin, industrial machinery, pumps, machine tools, aircraft and spacecraft, electrical machinery and equipment, auto components and parts, medical devices and instruments, other construction machinery, etc. A major decline was witnessed in the rest of the 15 engineering panels.
After eight straight months of year-on-year decline from December 2022 to July 2023, India’s engineering exports were back to growth in August 2023, registering a decent 7.73% growth over August 2022, owing mainly to a lower statistical base.
Engineering exports in August 2023 were recorded at $9.05 billion, up from $8.40 billion in August 2022.
