Engineering goods, one of India’s top export items, declined 5 per cent in February (year-on-year) 2021 to $6.5 billion after posting a growth of 16.46 per cent the previous month as shipments to US, the largest market declined.
Demand from China, however, continued to rise with exports of the item posting a 68 per cent increase in February, per an analysis done by EEPC.
Overall, engineering exports dipped 8.16 per cent in the April- February 2020-21 to $64.27 billion.
Exporters are hopeful that the worst is over and exports would now rise since the Covid-19 vaccination drive is on in most major economies and global trade was getting back on track.
“...we hope for growth to return since most major economies have rolled out vaccination drives against Coronavirus. There is also a gradual recovery in global trade which will have a positive impact on the export sector in India,” said EEPC India Chairman Mahesh Desai.
As per data compiled by the EEPC, the USA retained its position as the top most destination for India’s engineering products with exports to the country at $927.38 million although shipments to the country fell both in monthly and cumulative (April-February 2021) terms.
China was the second largest importer of engineering products from India with shipments in February 2021 valued at $235.58 million followed by UAE at $233.75 million, Singapore at $212.96 million and Germany at $260.85 million.