Engineering exports to 19 nations dip sharply: EEPC

Engineering exports plummeted 28% in January to $4.82 bn from $6.7 bn in the year-ago period

Indicating the severity of global economic environment, engineering exports to as many as 19 out of India's top 25 destinations have seen a sharp dip, with Malaysia alone recording a plunge of about 90 per cent.

Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) said that decline in the growth of exports to key destinations has fallen by more than 50 per cent in January.

Engineering exports plummeted 28 per cent in January to $4.82 billion from $6.70 billion in the year-ago period.

"The exports are getting quite bad. Look at Malaysia, one of the top 25 destinations for our exports. For January the shipments there plummeted to $78.22 million from $830.88 million a year ago. When close to a billion dollar disappears from a single market in just one of the sectors, the depth of the problems can be gauged," EEPC Chairman T S Bhasin said.

Engineering exports to UAE, the second largest market destination after the US, dropped by more than half to $484.12 million in January, EEPC said in a release.

Similar is the case in other important destinations including the Middle East and West Asia region.

"The worst thing is that such a drop has come about on a low base created by almost a similar drop in the same month last year," Bhasin said.

China which was considered an engine of global economic growth and a major consumer of the global metals and products gave Indian engineering exporters a much lower market at $124 million in January, as against $195 million a year ago.

In the products category, a major fall was witnessed in iron and steel which dropped by almost 50 per cent to $355 million from $709 million y-o-y.

Likewise, the fall in copper and products was over 47 per cent from $306 million to $160 million, EEPC India said.

India's overall exports dipped for the 14th month in a row, down 13.6 per cent in January to $21 billion due to fall in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods, although trade deficit showed improvement.