Indian engineering exports increase by 11.8% in the first quarter, but shipments to China remain low

On Monday, the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India declared that engineering goods exports from India had grown 11.8% year-on-year to $28.96 billion in the April-June period of the current financial year due to strong demand from countries such as the US, Germany, and Mexico.
However, the demand from China had dropped significantly in this same period, hindering the growth momentum.
In June, exports to China had dropped 55% year-on-year to $232.78 million, a steeper decline than in May (52.2%) and April (48.2%) this year.
Overall in the first quarter of the current financial year, engineering exports to China had decreased by 51.90% year-on-year to $662.90 million, compared to $1378.20 million in the first quarter of the previous financial year (2021-22).
EEPC India Chairman Mahesh Desai said in a statement that the fall in exports to China is due to the COVID-19 scare and complete shutdowns in key cities.
He also pointed out that the imposition of export duty on certain steel products, including stainless steel products, had been detrimental to the engineering sector.
The trade data shows that exports of ‘iron and steel and its products’ had fallen 17.7% year-on-year in June 2022 to $2.30 billion, as opposed to $2.79 billion in the same month last year.
Engineering exports from India had risen 4.2% in June 2022 to $9.69 billion, compared to $9.30 billion in June 2021.
The US was the top importer of India’s engineering goods in June and during the quarter, with exports to the US increasing 28.59% in June 2022 to $1.67 billion, and 48.09% cumulatively during April-June period of FY23 to $5.31 billion, compared to $3.59 billion in the corresponding period of FY22.
The top five countries that witnessed positive growth during June 2022 were the US, Germany, Mexico, UK, and Bangladesh. (ANI)