Engineering exports fell 10.85 per cent in September to $8.4 billion because of a fall in demand from the EU and China and the imposition of duties on steel.

Engineering exports to the EU registered a 6.3 per cent year-on-year decline in September to $1.611 billion, while shipments to China slumped 64.5 per cent to $202.61 million.

Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain were among the countries in Europe which registered a decline in imports.

“This decline can be majorly explained by the falling steel exports — in September alone exports of iron and steel came down more than 60 per cent and in cumulative terms, the drop was more than 30 per cent,” EEPC India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said.

He said this decline had been a direct result of the 15 per cent export duty on iron and steel products applicable since May 21, 2022.

“The drop in steel exports has impacted India’s potential in various key markets including Europe, North East Asia, Africa, etc. EEPC India has requested the government to look into the export duty especially on the stainless steel segment since these are major export products for India, mainly produced by MSMEs and also have low domestic demand,” Garodia said.

Excluding steel, engineering exports recorded 4.94 per cent growth in September and 12.37 per cent growth during April-September 2022-23.

During April-September, the decline in iron and steel exports was 36.8 per cent.

As many as 20 out of 34 engineering panels witnessed positive year-on-year growth in exports during September 2022 vis-a-vis the same month last fiscal.

Major decline was witnessed in metals and railway transport equipment and parts. On a cumulative basis , 26 out of 34 engineering panels saw positive growth.