India’s engineering exports in the first eight months of the fiscal, ended November, declined 1.81% to $69.46 billion compared to $70.74 billion in the year earlier period.

Excluding iron and steel, the exports recorded a marginal 0.79% increase during the period. For November, the exports at $7.85 billion was 3.10% lower from $8.10 billion in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. The decline came after three months of growth, from August, engineering exporters body EEPC India said.

High interest rates, weak industrial output, volatility in commodity prices and increase in trade restrictive measures are affecting global trade and in turn, India’s engineering exports, Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said. “Raw material prices and high cost of logistics are becoming an additional burden for Indian exporters amid global trade depression. We urge the government to look into these matters and continue supporting us to keep us competitive in the global market,” he said.

EEPC, in a release, said engineering goods exports to West Asia and North Africa, North East Asia and CIS countries recorded positive year-on-year growth in the eight months while shipments to key regions like North America, EU, ASEAN and South Asia declined. On a cumulative basis, 16 out of 34 engineering panels recorded negative growth during April-November 2023-24.

In November, 10 engineering panels saw positive year-on-year growth, while 24 panels, including major raw materials like iron and steel, non-ferrous sectors and machinery, experienced negative export growth. Shipments to the U.S., the top engineering goods market, UK, Germany, Italy, China declined, while exports to Saudi Arabia, Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, UAE and Brazil were more year-on-year growth.