Comments
A near-doubling of engineering goods exports to Russia in April-February 2023-24 and an increase in shipments to free trade partner countries the UAE and Australia have led to a 1.23 per cent growth in exports (year-on-year) from this segment, at $98.03 billion, despite an overall decline in goods exports during the period.
Exports to the US and China, two important markets for Indian engineering items, however, declined in the eleven-month period this fiscal, as per an analysis by EEPC India.
“India’s engineering exports achieved year-on-year growth for the third straight month in February 2024 and the rate of growth at 15.9 per cent was the highest in fiscal 2023-24. In February 2024, engineering exports were at $ 9.94 billion… the second highest export in fiscal 2023-24 after December 2023,” the analysis noted.
Engineering exports to the US in April-February 2023-24 declined 7 per cent to $15.95 billion, but the region remained the top destination. Shipments to China, the eleventh in size, fell 1 per cent in the same period to $2.38 billion.
The UAE was the second largest market for India with engineering exports rising 16 per cent in the first eleven months to $5.22 billion. Saudi Arabia was the third largest market with exports of engineering items spiking 75 per cent to $4.62 billion in April-February 2023-24.
Russia’s balancing act
Russia, which seeks to import more from India for a more balanced trade and the success of the rupee payment mechanism introduced to counter the West’s economic sanctions against it, saw 99 per cent increase to $1.22 billion.
Shipments to Australia increased 5 per cent to $1.3 billion.
“The FTA with the UAE and the negotiations with GCC have been quite effective as West Asia and North Africa’s share in India’s engineering export basket increased from 12 per cent last year to 15 per cent this year. This performance has been possible despite the difficult global trade situation,” said Arun Kumar Garodia, Chairman, EEPC India.
However, in February 2024, exports of engineering goods to the UAE fell 7 per cent to $499 million. “Among top exporting destinations, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, South Korea, Mexico, Malaysia, UK and China experienced growth in February 2024 while the UAE, Singapore and Netherland saw negative export growth,” the report said.
The share of engineering exports in India’s total goods exports increased to 24.01 per cent in February 2024 from 23.75 percent in January 2024. The share was 24.82 per cent during April-February 2023-24.
Contract in goods export
In February 2024, as many as 28 out of 34 engineering panels posted an increase in exports while the rest declined. Export of zinc and products, nickel and products, motor vehicle/cars, railway transport and parts, ships and boats, and office equipment dropped.
In April-February 2023-24, 20 out of 34 engineering panels recorded an export growth while the rest, including iron and steel, some non-ferrous sectors including aluminium, zinc, and nickel, and sectors from industrial machinery and automobiles, declined
- Also read: Trade pact with EFTA may be the first for India with committed investments, jobs, says official
India’s overall goods exports in April-February 2023-24 contracted 3.45 per cent (year-on-year) to $394.99 billion, as per quick estimates released by the Commerce Department.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.