Engineering exports grow by over 18pc in Jan

The country's engineeringexports have increased by 18.69 per cent in January this yearand demand for such products in the international markets isexpected to be steady in the remaining two months of thecurrent fiscal, an industry body said on Wednesday.

Engineering Export Promotion Council of India saidshipments for January 2021 have gone up to USD 7,174.43million from USD 6,011.43 million in the same month lastfiscal, raising the prospects for February and March.

''The government has extended a helping hand toengineering exporters in the Union budget by taking measuresaimed at reining in prices of steel, the key raw material.

Exporters have navigated the post-COVID global market withinnovative offerings to their buyers,'' EEPC India chairmanMahesh Desai said.

According to an assessment by the EEPC India, arecovery in the external demand has been witnessed in the pastfew months in markets of the US and Europe, besides severalkey Asian economies, he said.

Engineering exporters had faced headwinds even inDecember for high steel prices, he said.

''Market diversification, helped by the PLI scheme,would go a long way in scaling up the engineering exportswhich contribute about 25 per cent of the country's totalmerchandise export basket,'' Desai said in a statement.