New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Driven by exceptionally high growth in exports of 'aircraft, spacecraft, and parts', 'ships, boats, and floating structures', Indian engineering exports crossed $10 billion in October 2024 for the first time in the current financial year.

Engineering goods worth US$11.19 billion were shipped in October this year, a 38.53 per cent year-on-year rise compared to $8.08 billion in the corresponding month last year.

The share of engineering in overall merchandise exports was at an impressive 28.72 per cent in October 2024 and at 26.75 per cent on a cumulative basis. At $66.59 billion, cumulative engineering exports during the April-October period of FY25 also recorded 8.27 per cent year-on-year growth over the same period last fiscal, according to figures compiled by the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC).

Region-wise, North America and the European Union (EU) remained India's topmost destinations for engineering exports during the April-October period of FY25 with a share of around 21 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

Country-wise, the US remained India's top destination for engineering exports in October this year. The highest growth was registered by ASEAN (137 per cent), followed by West Asia and North Africa (57 per cent), and the EU (41 per cent) during the month.

Exports of iron and steel turned positive for the first time during October in fiscal 2024-25 while electric machinery, industrial machinery, and automobiles also supported this high growth of overall engineering exports by showing a noticeable increase in exports.

In October 2024, as many as 33 out of 34 engineering panels witnessed positive year-on-year growth. Only exports of office equipment declined by merely 1 per cent during this period.

On a cumulative basis, 27 out of 34 engineering panels recorded positive growth and the remaining 7 engineering panels including iron and steel, some non-ferrous sectors including copper, aluminium, and zinc products, and office equipment recorded negative growth during the April-October period of FY25.

"Indian engineering exports recorded another remarkable performance for the sixth consecutive month in October this fiscal despite the growing global uncertainties and shifting trade policies," EEPC Indian Chairman Pankaj Chadha said.

"Going forward, lower inflation and moderation in interest rate should boost consumer spending and raise investment spending by firms. This should lead to a positive trade outlook. The risks to merchandise trade mainly remain similar to previous months including geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts and policy uncertainty," the EEPC chairman said.

In its latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics (October 2024), the WTO revised its forecast for global merchandise trade for 2024 to 2.7 per cent, which is slightly better than the previous 2.6 per cent. The update for 2025 however is revised down to 3 per cent from the previous 3.3 per cent.