Sanctions on Russia may augur well for exports: EEPC

Maintaining current trend of exports unlikely to be easy amid global, domestic challenges

Engineering exporters representative association EEPC India said it expected sanctions imposed on Russia, by many countries in the wake of Ukraine war, to help open up opportunities for Indian exporters.

Sanctions could bring opportunities for Indian engineering exporters to replace Russia in the global market, Chairman Mahesh Desai was quoted as saying in EEPC’s statement, while highlighting how the war posed significant risks to economies and trade globally.

Besides the war, a rise in COVID-19 cases in China is a major challenge for the smooth functioning of global supply chains. Other factors detrimental to maintaining the ‘good show’ of FY22 include inflation pressure in the U.S., real estate instability in China as well as rising steel prices in India. Some financial issues were also likely to act as a bottleneck to exports in the months ahead, he said.

India’s engineering exports rose more than 46% to $112.10 billion in FY22, surpassing the $107.34 billion target set by the Centre. As many as 32 out of the 34 engineering product panels witnessed growth in the fiscal. The share of engineering in total merchandise exports was 26.7%, the EEPC said in the statement.

For the first time, monthly engineering exports crossed the $11-billion mark in March. At $11.13 billion, it was a 19.7% increase from $9.29 billion seen a year earlier.

The top 25 export destinations that include the U.S., the UAE, China, Germany, Italy and Singapore accounted for almost 75% of India’s total engineering exports. Exports to China, however, declined 44.5% in March to $316 million. For the fiscal, total exports to China were higher at $5.45 billion ($4.84 billion).

Engineering exports to the U.S. increased almost 53% at $17.32 billion in FY22. The U.S. was the largest importer of Indian industrial machinery during the year, followed by Thailand and Germany. Italy, the UAE and Belgium were the top three importers of Indian iron and steel, while the U.S., Germany and the U.K. were the top three importers of India's products of iron and steel during the fiscal.