Engineering exports declined by nearly 16 per cent to $4.5 billion in June, due to weak demand in western markets like the US and Europe.
In June last year, these exports stood at $5.3 billion, according to the data by Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), which is under the Commerce Ministry.
“Exporters are getting few orders from the American and European markets as buyers in these countries are not keeping inventories,” an EEPC official said.
However, he said the demand is likely to pick up in the second half of the current fiscal.
The US and Europe together account for over 60 per cent of India’s total engineering exports.
During April-June 2012-13, engineering exports dipped about 9 per cent to $14.3 billion compared to the same period last year.
Among the exportable items which registered a decline include iron and steel, aircrafts, spacecrafts and parts, ships and other construction machinery.
During 2011-12, the country’s engineering exports grew 17 per cent to $59 billion compared to $49.7 billion in the previous fiscal.
India exports engineering items such as transport equipment, capital goods, other machinery/equipment and light engineering products like castings, forgings and fasteners.