New Delhi, Oct 21 (Bureau) Dragged down primarily by iron and steel, India’s engineering goods exports declined in September 2022 posing a challenge to achieving US$ 127 billion sectoral export target set by the government for the current financial year 2022-23. Slowdown in Europe and China also contributed to the fall in engineering goods exports which account for nearly one-fourth of the total merchandise exports from the country, EEPC India said in a statement on Friday. While engineering exports to the European Union (EU) countries registered a 6.3 per cent year-on-year decline, shipments to China slumped 64.5 per cent during this period. Among the 25 key markets for Indian engineering goods, exports to 15 countries declined in September 2022. The US remained top market for Indian engineering goods exports in September recording positive growth. In September 2022, engineering goods exports to the US increased 9 per cent year-on-year to US$ 1.51 billion. Exports to China in September 2022 plunged to US$ 203.61 million from US$ 572.96 million in September 2021, according to EEPC India.
Engineering goods exports to the EU slid 6.3 per cent year-on-year in US$ 1.61 billion. Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain were among countries in Europe which registered a decline in imports of Indian engineering goods during September. At US$ 217.89 million, engineering exports to the UK declined 37.9 per cent year-on-year in September. “Engineering exports have been experiencing a downward trend. In September 2022, engineering exports recorded a 10.85 per cent fall whereas in cumulative terms that is April-September 2022, engineering exports exhibited a meagre rise of only 1.15 per cent. This decline can be majorly explained by the falling steel exports – in September alone exports of iron and steel came down by more than 60% and in cumulative terms the drop was more than 30 per cent,” said EEPC India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia. He noted that this decline had been a direct result of the 15 per cent export duty on iron and steel products applicable since May 21st 2022. “The drop in steel exports has impacted India’s potential in various key markets including Europe, North East Asia, Africa, etc.
EEPC India has requested the government to look into the export duty especially on the stainless steel segment since these are major export products for India, mainly produced by MSMEs and also have low domestic demand,” Garodia said. Data compiled by EEPC India showed engineering exports in September 2022 fell 10.85 per cent year-on-year in September to US$ 8.40 billion as against US$ 9.42 billion in September 2021. Cumulative engineering exports however managed to grow by 1.15 per cent during the first half of fiscal 2022-23 as it inched up to US$ 55.14 billion during April-September 2022-23 from US$ 54.51 billion during the same period last fiscal. Excluding the export of iron and steel, engineering exports recorded 4.94 per cent year-on-year growth in September 2022 and 12.37 per cent growth on a cumulative basis during April-September 2022-23. Cumulative decline in iron and steel exports for the first half of 2022-23 was 36.8 per cent year-on-year. As many as 20 out of 34 engineering panels witnessed positive year-on-year growth in exports during September 2022 vis-a-vis the same month last fiscal. Major decline was witnessed in the metal segment and railway transport equipment and parts.