NEW DELHI: While India’s overall exports might have clawed their way back to around 10 per cent growth during the just concluded financial year (2017-18), engineering export growth has fast outpaced the former. According to data released by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) India on Monday, engineering exports grew 17 per cent during the year, mainly due to high metal exports.
Engineering exports, which account for 25% of India’s total merchandise exports, touched $76 billion during 2017-18, compared to $65.23 billion in FY17.“The stellar performance of the sector is mainly attributed to the metal pack even as the US remained the top market for us,” EEPC India chairman Ravi Sehgal said. In fact, iron and steel exports registered a 29.42 per cent growth during FY18 to hit $11.20 billion, from $8.66 billion in FY17.
According to the EEPC, the United States continued to be the top exporting destination for India’s engineering products, registering an impressive 44.3 per cent growth for the last fiscal. The US was also the largest importer of ‘Industrial machinery’ made in India during FY18, with the segment recording 25 per cent growth, followed by the UK, Bangladesh and Germany, which were the other key markets.
“The US economy is growing at a steady and a rapid pace and we should be able to take advantage. However, at the policy level, we are expecting lot more support from the government, including faster clearance of tax refunds,” said Sehgal.