EEPC Chairman Mahesh Desai said that while many things could be beyond one’s control, certain pre-emptive measures could help the engineering sector to stay on track
Despite a host of challenges ranging from high input costs to supply-chain disruptions and exceptionally high freight rates posing downward risks, India’s engineering goods exports ended the year 2021 on a positive note, recording a 37 percent year-on-year growth in the month of December with a total value estimated at USD 9.7 billion.
This information was released by EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai who further said, “While we remain cautiously optimistic the Omicron worry is real and it could play major spoilsport. Our key markets in Europe and North America are witnessing a very high number of infections and that could negatively impact the order pipeline. As of now we have not seen any impact but in the next few weeks we will have a clear picture.”
He said that while many things could be beyond one’s control, certain pre-emptive measures could help the engineering sector to stay on track and continue to make new inroads in markets abroad.
“The government may consider including iron and steel items under RoDTEP and bring the import duty on copper ores to nil in order to calm down prices of primary raw materials,” Mr Desai said.
He also called for extending the benefit of lower corporate tax to Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs) and proprietary firms as it will make funds available with a large number of MSMEs for capacity expansion.
India’s engineering goods exports to China have seen a more than double spike in November with $434.6 million worth of shipments from the $205.3 million in the same period in 2020.
The top importer of Indian engineering goods was still the US, with $1196 million during this period, registering a growth of 36.6 percent over $875 million in November 2020.
