India's engineering exports decline 3.2% to $8.67 billion in April 2024

With lower shipments of metals, especially iron, steel and copper, India's engineering exports declined 3.2 per cent to $8.67 billion in April 2024. The growth of engineering exports has been steady in the past four months. The lower shipment of steel was mainly witnessed in Italy, Nepal, the UAE, the Netherlands, the USA, China, and South Korea, among others. Notably, engineering exports to the USA increased 1.2 per cent year-on-year to $1.41 billion in April this year. The value of shipments to Saudi Arabia was higher by 48.9 per cent in April 2024, at $435.72 million, as against $292.72 million in April 2023. Engineering exports to China went up 14.8 per cent to $210.29 million from $183.24 million in the same month last year. Engineering exports recorded a growth of 2.61 per cent during April 2024, excluding the export of iron and steel.

The exports of both metals declined by a substantial 36.41 per cent, which was the single biggest reason behind the fall seen during the current month. The decline in engineering exports was witnessed in almost all regions, barring North America, North East Asia, WANA, and the CIS. Among top exporting destinations, the USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, UK, Mexico, and China experienced positive growth in April 2024, while Germany, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Brazil, Thailand, France, Bangladesh, and many more saw negative export growth. A high base effect caused a decline in engineering exports to Russia, as exports to the country stood at $118.56 million in April 2024, 9.4 per cent lower compared to $130.91 million in the corresponding period last year.

Region-wise, North America and the European Union remained India's topmost destinations for engineering exports, with a share of 21.1 per cent and 18.4 per cent, respectively, in India's total engineering exports. North East Asia registered the highest growth of 24.5 per cent during April 2024 vis-a-vis the same period last year, followed by CIS (growth of 7.9 per cent), North America (growth of 4.7 per cent), and WANA (growth of 3.1 per cent). All remaining regions witnessed negative growth in exports. India's total engineering goods exports in the financial year ended March 2024 had risen marginally to $109.32 billion from $107.04 billion in FY2022-23, despite numerous challenges.

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