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Engineering exports target of USD 72 bn may not be met

The engineering export target of USD 72 billion for the 2011-12 fiscal may not be achieved on account of sluggish demand in major markets like the US and Europe.

During 2010-11, these exports grew by about 85 per cent to USD 60.1 billion.

"We expect the exports to touch the level of USD 65 billion in this fiscal due to sluggish demand in traditional markets like the US and Europe, "Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) Executive Director R Maitra told PTI.

The US and Europe account for over 60 per cent of the country's total engineering exports.

During April-January this fiscal, these exports grew by 21 per cent year-on-year to USD 49.7 billion.

Engineering exports include exports of goods, transport equipment, capital goods, other machinery/equipment and light engineering products like castings, forgings and fasteners.

In its strategy paper, the Commerce Ministry has set a total exports target of USD 500 billion by 2013-14.

For engineering sector, which accounts for about one-fourth of the country's total merchandise shipments, a target of USD 125 billion has been fixed for the period.

During April-February period, the country's total exports aggregated to USD 267.4 billion, a year-on-year growth of 21.4 per cent, thanks to the surge witnessed in the early months of the fiscal.