Breaching the crucial $50-billion mark, the country’s engineering exports grew by over 80 per cent during April-February of the current fiscal and is expected to end the fiscal with $57 billion.
The robust performance has come about on the back of a strong demand from the US and the developing markets of Latin American countries, exporters said.
Exports during the 11-month period of 2010-11 stood at $52.7 billion against $29.14 billion in the last fiscal, according to the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EPCH) data.
In February 2011, exports grew by 75 per cent to $7 billion compared with $4 billion in the same period last fiscal.
“We have been getting a good number of orders from the US, Latin American and Middle East markets. We expect exports to touch $57 billion by the end of the current fiscal,” the EPCH Executive Director, Mr R. Maitra, said.
These exports would have been still, higher if there were no financial problems in Europe. “The European market is still sluggish,” he said.
Of the $32.5-billion engineering exports in 2009-10, the US accounted for over 30 per cent of the shipments.
In its strategy to double India’s exports to $450 billion by 2014, engineering exports are set to play a major role.
Engineering exports include exports of goods, transport equipment, capital goods, other machinery/equipment and light engineering products like castings, forgings and fasteners.