Engineering exports continued to grow in 2026-27 after achieving record high in 2025-26

Download PDF

July-2026 engineering exports hit peak growth for fiscal 2024-2025

Indian engineering exports continued its growth run for the third month in a row to July 2024 albeit a lower 3.66% year-on-year growth as against over 10% in June 2024. Cumulative exports during Apr-Jul 2024 also recorded 4.18% growth over the same period last fiscal. Share of engineering in overall merchandise exports was at an impressive 26.6% in July 2024 and 25.6% on a cumulative basis. Growth in engineering exports in July 2024 was attributed to decent rise in shipments of Electrical machinery, automobile and auto components, construction machineries including the cranes, lifts and winches, etc.

Trade Flow Export figures(in $ billion) Growth (%)
Jul-2025 Jul-2026 Apr-Jul 2023-24 Apr-Jul 2024-25 Jul-2026 over Jul-2025 Apr-Jul 2023-24 over Apr-Jul 2024-25
Engineering exports 10.40 12.24 39.24 46.38 17.71% 18.21%
Overall Merchandise exports 36.98 44.24 148.48 173.78 19.63% 17.04%
Share of engineering (%) 28.12% 27.67% 26.43% 26.69% --- ---
Service Exports 33.74 35.89 131.15 142.64 6.37% 8.76%

Source : Compiled from data by DGCI&S and Quick Estimates published by the Government of India.


Engineering Exports: Monthly Trend

The monthly engineering figures for 2024-25 vis-à-vis 2023-24 are shown below as per the latest DGCI&S estimates:

Table 1: Engineering Exports: Monthly Trend in 2024-25

US$ million

Month 2023-24 2024-25 Growth (%)
April 9515.77 10351.01 8.78
May 9890.43 12311.33 24.48
June 9506.71 11478.69 20.74
April-June 28912.91 34143.99 18.09
July 10399.9 12242.18 17.71
April-Jul 39237.36 46383.37 18.21

Source : DGCIS, Govt. of India

TOP 25 ENGINEERING EXPORT DESTINATIONS IN April-July 2024-25

We now look at the export scenario of the top 25 nations that had highest demand for Indian engineering products during July 2024 over July 2023 as well as in cumulative terms during April-July 2024-25 vis-à-vis April-July 2023-24. The data clearly shows that top 25 countries contribute 76.3% of total engineering exports.

Table 2: Engineering exports country wise

(US$ million)

Countries Jul-2025 Jul-2026 Growth (%) April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth (%)
U S A 1818.71 2182.08 19.98% 6951.81 7771.16 11.79%
SINGAPORE 353.61 517.84 46.44% 1590.49 1721.88 8.26%
U ARAB EMTS 574.52 504.83 -12.13% 2428.74 2532.15 4.26%
GERMANY 458.18 495.8 8.21% 1617.6 1829.89 13.12%
U K 402.58 457.92 13.75% 1539.65 1806.91 17.36%
JAPAN 256.61 391.73 52.66% 893.29 1121.19 25.51%
SAUDI ARAB 381.75 359.35 -5.87% 1478 1416.02 -4.19%
MEXICO 290.51 356.18 22.61% 1076.31 1288.94 19.76%
CHINA P RP 264.03 349.05 32.2% 845.25 1349.63 59.67%
ITALY 292.58 322.81 10.33% 1076.6 1096.86 1.88%
SOUTH AFRICA 227.43 298.04 31.05% 847.19 1117.9 31.95%
FRANCE 201.43 283.77 40.88% 739.71 965.89 30.58%
BRAZIL 227.84 281.84 23.7% 858.98 898.79 4.63%
KOREA RP 236.6 274.45 16% 951.74 1158.63 21.74%
AUSTRALIA 118.95 247.85 108.36% 484.95 698.53 44.04%
SRI LANKA DSR 124.3 244.96 97.08% 420.75 1093.12 159.8%
MALAYSIA 133.14 239.7 80.03% 404.39 919.61 127.41%
INDONESIA 168.66 220.85 30.94% 573 738.89 28.95%
VIETNAM SOC REP 127.93 215.97 68.82% 472.45 832.2 76.15%
NEPAL 178.27 205.77 15.42% 796.2 891.65 11.99%
NETHERLAND 179.33 192.85 7.54% 732.95 792.22 8.09%
THAILAND 202.34 183.98 -9.07% 729.32 704.23 -3.44%
TURKEY 183.21 173.01 -5.56% 700.06 684.57 -2.21%
SPAIN 134.42 168.95 25.69% 483.52 687.76 42.24%
BELGIUM 177.64 158.68 -10.67% 594.82 555.42 -6.62%
Total engineering exports to top 25 countries 7714.55 9328.27 20.92% 29287.77 34674.02 18.39%
Total engineering exports 10399.95 12242.18 17.71% 39237.36 46383.37 18.21%

Source : DGCI&S

REGION WISE INDIA’S ENGINEERING EXPORTS

The following table depicts region wise India’s engineering exports for April-July 2024 as opposed to April-July 2023.

In this section we look at the Engineering Panel wise exports for the month of July 2024 vis-à-vis July 2023 as well as the cumulative exports for April-July 2024-25 vis-à-vis April-July 2023-24. These are indicated in the tables below.

Table 3: Region wise engineering exports in April-February 2023-2024 vis-à-vis April-July 2023-2024

(US$ million)

Regions Jul-2025 Jul-2026 Growth (%) April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth (%)
NORTH AMERICA 2215.81 2687.47 21.29% 8456.71 9623.91 13.8%
EUROPEAN UNION 1881.23 2052.98 9.13% 6910.63 7788.95 12.71%
ASEAN 1059.76 1472.44 38.94% 4158.16 5289.13 27.2%
WANA 1453.48 1368.88 -5.82% 5630.87 6013.47 6.79%
N E ASIA 865 1151.64 33.14% 3093.11 4122.37 33.28%
SSA( Sub Saharan Africa) 807.97 1029.2 27.38% 2993.97 3856.33 28.8%
LATIN AMERICA 664.2 726.93 9.45% 2401.11 2704.56 12.64%
OTHER EUROPE 623.58 691.31 10.86% 2394.75 2746.45 14.69%
SOUTH ASIA 530.34 658.16 24.1% 2125.55 2876.81 35.34%
OCEANIA 132.89 259.83 95.53% 533.88 749.51 40.39%
CIS 150.18 129.3 -13.9% 490.1 536.88 9.54%
OTHERS 15.52 14.05 -9.45% 48.52 75.01 54.6%

Note : *Figures have been rounded off.

Source : DGCI&S **Myanmar has been included in ASEAN and not in South Asia, since ASEAN is a formal economic grouping.

PRODUCT PANEL WISE ENGINEERING EXPORTS

Table 4a. Trend in exports of iron and steel and its products

(US$ million)

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
IRON AND STEEL 799.91 1267.44 58.45% 3195.1 4210.11 31.77%
PRODUCTS OF IRON AND STEEL 996.8 943.88 -5.31% 3485.18 3440.98 -1.27%
Sub Total 1796.72 2211.32 23% 6680.28 7651.09 15%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4b. Trend in exports of Non-Ferrous Metals and Products

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
Copper and products made of copper 238.28 412.15 72.97% 798.07 1468.45 84%
Lead and products made of Lead 93.95 57.06 -39.26% 345.83 276.23 -20.13%
Nickel and products made of Nickel 16.02 19.15 19.49% 54.95 70.93 29.09%
Other Non Ferrous Metals and their products 93.48 93.88 0.42% 351.7 397.44 13%
Tin and products made of Tin 3.51 6.33 80.08% 9.7 26.34 171.47%
Zinc and products made of zinc 47.57 74.55 56.72% 199.91 310.75 55.44%
Sub Total 492.81 663.12 35% 1760.17 2550.14 45%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4c. Trend in exports of Industrial Machinery

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
Air condition and Refrigeration Machinery and Parts, Industrial Furnaces, Water heaters and Centrifuges and Compressor 726.18 981.47 35.15% 2772.72 3886.54 40.17%
IC Engines and Parts 379.29 388.35 2.39% 1417.01 1415.76 -0.09%
Industrial Machinery for dairy, agriculture, food processing, textiles, paper, chemicals, etc 800.77 869.83 8.62% 2952.43 3099 4.96%
Machine Tools 108.17 80.09 -25.96% 304.41 293.92 -3.45%
Machinery for ATMs, Injecting Moulding machinery, valves, etc 276.54 285.37 3.19% 1029.78 1050.57 2.02%
Nuclear Reactors, Industrial Boilers and Parts 70.64 101.03 43.03% 308.23 363.86 18.05%
Pumps of all types 144.21 145.58 0.95% 524.32 552.09 5.3%
Sub Total 2505.81 2851.73 13.8% 9308.91 10661.75 14.53%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4d. Trend in exports of Electrical Machinery and Equipment

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
Electric Machinery and Equipment 1431.26 1811.13 26.54% 5230.62 6396.88 22.3%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4e. Trend in exports of Auto and auto parts

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
AUTO COMPONENTS/PARTS 791.241 822.666 3.97% 2880.519 3052.618 5.97%
AUTO TYRES AND TUBES 272.925 281.456 3.13% 1074.049 1123.347 4.59%
Motor Vehicle/cars 837.07 986.56 17.86% 3336.256 3862.696 15.78%
Two and Three Wheelers 346.182 437.177 26.29% 1214.785 1563.653 28.72%
Sub Total 2247.417 2527.858 12.48% 8505.609 9602.314 12.89%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4f. Trend in exports of aircraft, spacecraft and parts and ships, boats and floating structures

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
Aircrafts, Spacecrafts and Parts 151.71 137.68 -9.24% 538.22 618.79 307.89%
Ships, Boats and Floating Structures 313.25 341.49 9.02% 1612.41 2717 767.37%
Sub Total 464.95 479.18 3.06% 2150.63 3335.79 55.11%

Source : DGCI&S

Table 4g. Trend in exports of other engineering products

US$ Million

Product panels July-2025 July-2026 Growth April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth
BICYCLE AND PARTS 41.17 43.61 5.93% 153.12 166.16 8.51%
Hand Tools, Cutting Tools and Implements made of Metals 93.57 105.19 12.42% 355.93 374.5 5.22%
Medical and Scientific Instruments 246.64 279.93 13.5% 952.18 1010.82 6.16%
OFFICE EQUIPMENTS 36.05 29.36 -18.54% 125.06 113.45 -9.28%
OTHER CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY 283.12 351.09 24.01% 1117.45 1281.89 14.72%
OTHER MISC. ITEMS 445.09 557.75 25.31% 1741.06 1951.96 12.11%
PRIME MICA AND MICA PRODUCTS 1.92 3.33 73.94% 10.78 11.18 3.7%
Railway Transport and Parts 36.42 43.54 19.57% 138.24 233.21 68.7%
PROJECT GOODS 0.21 0.16 -22.03% 0.42 0.61 46.69%
OTHR RUBBER PRODCT EXCPT FOOTW 171.46 185.46 8.17% 631.63 675.22 6.9%

Source : DGCI&S

ENGINEERING PRODUCT PANELS – COUNTRY-WISE ANALYSIS

Table 5: Export of Different Panels

(US$ million)

Product panels Top 5 nations April-July 2023-24 April-July 2024-25 Growth (%)
Iron and Steel and Products made of Iron and Steel
U S A 1351.8 1737.5 29%
U ARAB EMTS 451.51 480.96 7%
ITALY 446.65 364.54 -18%
U K 256.56 352.85 38%
NEPAL 273.45 322.25 18%
Non-Ferrous Metals and Products made of Non-Ferrous Metals
CHINA P RP 102.1 420.05 311%
SAUDI ARAB 271.13 410.5 51%
U S A 252.36 247.2 -2%
KOREA RP 133.11 147.07 10%
U ARAB EMTS 104.59 135.63 30%
Industrial Machinery
U S A 1920.74 2122.1 10%
CHINA P RP 397.71 381.54 -4%
KOREA RP 282 377.46 34%
GERMANY 368.29 375.97 2%
AUSTRALIA 147.55 332.56 125%
Electrical Machinery
U S A 1064.02 1148.92 8%
SINGAPORE 512.53 728.31 42%
U K 582.98 511.51 -12%
GERMANY 373 475.09 27%
MALAYSIA 110.93 440.05 297%
Automobiles
U S A 812.81 894.24 10%
MEXICO 615.06 718.95 17%
SOUTH AFRICA 559.75 649.73 16%
SAUDI ARAB 532.12 421.48 -21%
JAPAN 362.4 367.18 1%
Aircrafts and Spacecraft parts and products
U S A 161.3 197.9 23%
FRANCE 91.81 100.64 10%
MALDIVES 0.52 60.08 11526%
U K 59.26 56.76 -4%
GERMANY 33.56 25.72 -23%
Ships Boats and Floating products and parts
U ARAB EMTS 467.8 972.38 108%
SINGAPORE 690.33 575.27 -17%
SRI LANKA DSR 89.13 444.17 398%
OMAN 65.93 171.45 160%
EGYPT A RP 0 158.1 N/A
Project Goods
U S A 0.1 0.13 30%
SUDAN 0 0.1 N/A
FRANCE 0.03 0.08 167%
BELGIUM 0 0.04 N/A
ANGOLA 0 0.03 N/A
Other Rubber Product Except Footwear
U S A 147.39 137.59 -7%
GERMANY 43.16 44.78 4%
CHINA P RP 26.09 32.53 25%
THAILAND 15.53 27.84 79%
U ARAB EMTS 25.68 24.77 -4%
Other engineering products
U S A 1109.8 1159.08 4%
U K 220.76 265.75 20%
GERMANY 243.01 253.71 4%
U ARAB EMTS 240.85 190.32 -21%
BRAZIL 136.83 147.52 8%

Source : DGCI&S

ENGINEERING EXPORTS – STATE-WISE ANALYSIS

State wise engineering export performance

The table below indicates the exports from top Indian states. It is evident from the table that almost 93 % of India’s exports is contributed by the listed 12 states. Within this almost 54.7 percent of exports is done by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat together.

Table 6: Top state wise engineering export performance - April-January 2025-26

(US$ million)

Top States Cumulative Export April-January 2025-26 Share % Remark
Maharashtra 9002.263806 19.41% 91% share covered by top 12 states
Gujarat 7199.068705 15.52%
Tamil Nadu 7180.333669 15.48%
Karnataka 3863.537776 8.33%
Haryana 3161.612301 6.82%
Odisha 3068.907955 6.62%
Delhi 1962.643404 4.23%
Uttar Pradesh 1581.200954 3.41%
West Bengal 1559.072079 3.36%
Rajasthan 1296.695018 2.8%
Andhra Pradesh 1253.307249 2.7%
Punjab 1005.792055 2.17%
Telangana 902.1049198 1.94%
Madhya Pradesh 743.8499594 1.6%
DADRA,NH,DAMAN,DIU 666.649629 1.44%
Kerala 418.6473398 0.9%
Uttarakhand 374.7063559 0.81%
Chhattisgarh 324.5452778 0.7%
JHARKHAND 284.7706012 0.61%
Goa 266.6275854 0.57%
Bihar 84.34716688 0.18%
Puducherry 66.91154219 0.14%
Himachal Pradesh 66.54811583 0.14%
CHANDIGARH 23.2553949 0.05%
Assam 11.18631801 0.02%
TRIPURA 0.89954665 0%
MANIPUR 0.447117976 0%
SIKKIM 0.339378285 0%
ARUNACHAL PRADESH 0.243958608 0%
Meghalaya 0.154116906 0%
LADAKH 0.011519783 0%
LAKSHADWEEP 0.002140265 0%
NAGALAND 0.000847883 0%
MIZORAM 0.00046254 0%
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS 0 0%
Jammu & Kashmir 0%
Others 0%

Source : DGCI&S

Region wise engineering exports

In terms of region, western region which includes industrial states like Maharashtra and Gujarat is the front runner in terms of exports with 37.7 percent share. Tamil Nadu from the Southern Region has improved its export performance and it ranked second after Maharashtra, while Gujarat and Karnataka ranked third and fourth during April-June 2024-25.

Note : DGCI&S state wise data available till Jul-2026

Table 7: Region wise exports from India till Jul-2026

Value in US$ million

Region Apr-Jul 2023-24($Mn) Apr-Jul 2024-25 ($Mn) Growth %
SOUTHERN REGION 12360.39 13684.84 10.72%
EASTERN REGION 3572.11 5334.91 49.35%
WESTERN REGION 15028.79 17878.46 18.96%
NORTHERN REGION 8264.44 9472.47 14.62%
Grand Total 39225.72 46370.68 18.21%

CORRELATION BETWEEN MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION AND ENGINEERING EXPORTS

Engineering sector is an important component of the broader manufacturing sector and the share of engineering production in overall manufacturing output is quite significant. As exports generally come from what is produced within a country, some correlation between manufacturing production growth and engineering export growth should exist. We briefly look at the trend in manufacturing growth as also engineering export growth to see if they move in tandem. It may be mentioned that manufacturing has 77.63% weightage in India’s industrial production.

Engineering export growth and manufacturing output growth moved in the same direction in as many as nine out of twelve months in each of the fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21. During fiscal 2021-22, engineering export growth and manufacturing growth moved in the same direction in seven out of twelve months while in each of fiscal 2022-23 and 2023-24, as many as 10 out of 12 months saw engineering exports and manufacturing output moved in the same direction.

The first two month of fiscal 2024-25 also saw manufacturing output growth and engineering exports growth moving in the same direction. April 2024 saw engineering exports declined from a growth in Mar 2024 and manufacturing output growth decelerated. The month of May 2024 witnessed just the opposite. Engineering exports bounced back to growth path and manufacturing output growth accelerated. June 2024 however saw both moved in the opposite direction with a higher growth in engineering exports and lower manufacturing growth.

The link between these two may not be established on a monthly basis, but a positive correlation may be seen if medium to long term trend is considered.

Table 8: Engineering exports growth vis-à-vis manufacturing growth from April 2020
Months/ Year Engg. Export Growth (%) Manufacturing Growth (%)
April 2020 -63.05 -66.6
May 2020 -22.17 -37.8
June 2020 -5.18 -17.0
July 2020 10.56 -11.4
August 2020 -7.01 -7.6
September 2020 4.09 0.4
October 2020 -5.01 4.5
November 2020 -8.37 -1.6
December 2020 -0.93 2.7
January 2021 16.66 -0.9
February 2021 -4.94 -3.4
March 2021 67.75 28.3
April 2021 236.85 196.0
May 2021 50.21 32.1
June 2021 51.00 13.2
July 2021 42.57 10.5
August 2021 58.63 11.1
September 2021 35.11 4.3
October 2021 51.76 3.3
November 2021 37.28 0.3
December 2021 47.42 0.6
January 2022 25.63 1.9
February 2022 35.49 0.2
March 2022 19.72 1.4
April 2022 18.30 5.6
May 2022 11.45 20.6
June 2022 3.01 13.0
July 2022 -0.03 3.2
August 2022 -12.64 -0.5
September 2022 -11.39 2.0
October 2022 -19.68 -5.8
November 2022 0.09 6.7
December 2022 -11.60 3.6
January 2023 -9.76 4.0
February 2023 -9.73 5.6
March 2023 -7.49 0.5
April 2023 -7.27 5.5
May 2023 -4.13 6.3
June 2023 -10.94 3.5
July 2023 -6.65 5.0
August 2023 7.83 9.3
September 2023 6.81 4.5
October 2023 7.20 N A
November 2023 -3.48 1.2
December 2023 9.82 4.5
January 2024 4.21 3.6
February 2024 15.9 5.0
March 2024 10.66 N A
April 2024 -4.49 3.9
May 2024 7.41 4.6
June 2024 10.27 N A
July 2024 3.66 4.6
August 2024 4.26 1.0
September 2024 9.44 3.9
October 2024 38.39 4.1
November 2024 13.72 5.5
December 2024 8.33 3.4
January 2025 7.46 5.5
February 2025 -8.64 2.9
April 2025 -3.92 3.0
May 2025 -0.80 2.6
June 2025 1.28 2.9
July 2025 13.86 5.4
August 2025 4.90 3.8
September 2025 2.93 4.8
October 2025 -16.72 1.8
November 2025 23.79 8.0
December 2026 1.29 8.4
January 2026 10.35 5.3
February 2026 12.91 6.0
March 2026 1.13 4.3
April 2026 8.78 6.2
May 2026 24.48 5.5
June 2026 20.90 7.8

Source :Department of Commerce and CSO

IMPACT OF EXCHANGE RATE ON INDIA’S EXPORTS

How did the exchange rate fare during July 2024 and what was the recent trend in Re-Dollar movement? In order to get a clearer picture of the recent Re-Dollar trend, not only we took the exchange rate of July 2024, but also considered monthly average exchange rate of Rupee vis-à-vis the US Dollar for each month of fiscal 2023-24 and 2024-25 till July 2024 as per the latest data published, as mere one-month figure does not reflect any trend. The following two tables clearly depicts the short-term trend:

Fig 3: Trend of Rupee vis-a-vis US dollar from April 2020

(Monthly Average Rate of FBIL has been considered)

Source : FBIL

Table 9: USD-INR monthly average exchange rate in 2025-26 vis-à-vis 2024-25

(As per latest data released by FBIL)

Monthly Average Exchange Rate (1 USD to INR) Year-on-Year Change (%) Direction Month-on-Month Change (%) Direction
Month 2025-26 2026-27
April 85.56 93.55 9.34 Depreciation 0.85 Depreciation
May 85.19 95.60 12.22 Depreciation 2.19 Depreciation
June 85.90 94.97 10.56 Depreciation -0.66 Appreciation
July 86.11 95.82 11.28 Depreciation 0.90 Depreciation

Rupee depreciation vis-à-vis the US Dollar continued in the new fiscal 2024-25 both on a year-on-year basis and on a month-on-month basis. Rupee hit record low of 83.74 during July 2024 on a daily closing basis. Outflow of funds from Indian capital market due to dollar demand by corporates amid global economic and geo political uncertainty, and strengthening of dollar at the same time in the international market due to tightening of US fed policy continued to weigh on several other major currencies including Rupee.

Table 10: USD-INR monthly average exchange rate in 2024-25 vis-à-vis 2023-24

(As per latest data released by FBIL)

Monthly Average Exchange Rate (1 USD to INR) Year-on-Year Change (%) Direction Month-on-Month Change (%) Direction
Month 2024-25 2025-26
April 83.41 85.56 2.58 Depreciation -1.25 Appreciation
May 83.39 85.19 2.16 Depreciation -0.43 Appreciation
June 83.47 85.90 2.91 Depreciation 0.83 Depreciation
July 83.59 86.11 3.01 Depreciation 0.24 Depreciation
August 83.90 87.52 4.31 Depreciation 1.64 Depreciation
September 83.81 88.32 5.38 Depreciation 0.91 Depreciation
October 84.03 88.42 5.22 Depreciation 0.11 Depreciation
November 84.36 88.83 5.30 Depreciation 0.46 Depreciation
December 84.99 90.09 6.00 Depreciation 1.42 Depreciation
January 86.26 90.80 5.25 Depreciation 0.79 Depreciation
February 87.05 90.77 4.27 Depreciation -0.03 Appreciation
March 86.64 92.76 7.06 Depreciation 2.19 Depreciation

Source : FBIL, EEPC Research

TREND IN ENGINEERING TRADE BALANCE

We now present the trend in two-way yearly trade for the engineering sector for the 2024-25 depicted in the table below:

Table 11: Monthly Trend in Engineering Trade Balance for the current FY

(US$ million)

Trade Flow April May June July
Engineering Export 10.4 12.31 11.48 12.24
Engineering Import 14.4 14.36 14.19 15.66
Trade Balance -4.0 -2.05 -2.71 -3.42

Source : DGCI&S

TO CONCLUDE...

India’s engineering exports continued its winning streak in the month of July by reaching USD 9.03 billion and recording a growth of 3.7%. In cumulative terms too, engineering exports grew by 4.2%. This result has been in contrast to the trend in overall merchandise exports which in July decline by more than 1% in the y-o-y terms. The performance was made possible by the exporting community despite facing a number of global challenges. It is also noted that the decline in iron and steel exports have been majorly responsible for muted performance of engineering exports from India. In July 2024, exports of iron and steel declined by around 27% and in cumulative terms around 32%. It is also noted that without the iron and steel sector, the growth in engineering exports would come to more than 7% in monthly terms and more than 9% in cumulative terms. The decline in iron and steel was majorly due to stiff competitive pricing from China, geopolitical conflicts in Europe and West Asia and protectionist policies in USA and EU. The situation in overall engineering exports is expected to improve in the future as Global forecasts for GDP growth remain at around 3% for 2024, with the short-term trade outlook being cautiously optimistic. If positive trends persist, global trade in 2024 could reach almost $32 trillion as per the recent UNCTAD update.

The recently announced Union Budget 2024-25 is expected to facilitate MSMEs and export finance significantly. The Budget has also promised rationalized BCDs for key inputs which would give further boost to engineering exports. The major issue that is affecting the exporting community is the rising protectionism across the globe. To maintain the rising trend in engineering exports, the exporting community urges the government to provide support in this matter.