New Delhi, July 14 (Mayank Nigam) The downward trend in engineering exports during June is on expected lines as demand from key markets remains muted, EEPC India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said on Friday. He said the latest data showed engineering goods exports fell nearly 11 percent year-on-year to $8527.94 million inJune. “There has been a global demand slump primarily as a result of geo-political tensions, monetary policy tightening to containinflation and economic slowdown experienced by many advanced economies,: Garodia said.
It will be too early to expect the world economy to make a strong rebound and propel the exports of Indian engineering exports, but the medium and long-term outlook remains strong, he said. “Engineering goods manufacturers and exporters are looking to penetrate non-traditional markets and expand the existing buyer base. There are several free trade pacts in the pipeline with countries such as the UK and Canada, which would help Indian engineering exporters to scale up in the coming times. We foresee new FTAs with emerging countries inLatin America and Africa also being negotiated,” the EEPC India chairman said. The new FTAs, together with improvement in the world economic outlook, would help the sector grow exponentially in coming years and achieve a total shipments value of US$ 300 billion in 6-7 years. As India emerges as a key player in the global supply chain, the share of Indian engineering goods in the global trade would increase, leading to more investment in capacity and creation of jobs, he maintained. “We see massive export opportunities among G20 countries, and India’s Presidency is set to help tap the potential,” he concluded.