Kolkata / New Delhi, Sep 18 (Mayank Nigam) Despite several global challenges, Indian engineering exports registered positive year-on-year growth for the fourth month in a row in August 2024 and rose 4.36 percent year-on-year to US$9.44 billion from US$9.05 billion in the corresponding month last year, according to EEPC India. On a cumulative basis, the value of total engineering goods exports stood at US$46.41 billion for the April-August period of the current financial year, thus registering 4.22 pc year-on-year growth over the same period last fiscal, EEPC India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said in a statement. The performance would have certainly been much better had it not been for the significant decline in iron and steel exports.
Over the past many months, the decline in iron and steel exports has been majorly responsible for the muted performance of engineering exports from India. This could be partly attributed to very competitive pricing from China, geopolitical conflicts in Europe and West Asia, and protectionist policies in the USA and EU. Additionally, there is growing concern among the exporting community about Chinese steel entering India through FTA routes, bypassing tariffs intended to protect domestic production. To address this issue, it is essential to review and renegotiate these FTAs. “Going forward, we expect the engineering goods exports to improve on the back of various measures announced in the Budget 2024 and a positive outlook for the global economy. We remain cautiously optimistic about full-year positive growth in engineering exports,” Garodia said.