Engineering exports to cross $6.65 bn target

Monday, 17 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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India's engineering exports are expected to cross the $6.65 billion target for the 2002-03 fiscal ending March 31, with the North American Free Trade Area (Nafta) registering the maximum growth.

NEW DELHI: Nafta accounted for over 20 percent of the Indian exports and registered a growth of nearly 75 percent during 2001-02. "We expect the Nafta region to account for 20 percent of our exports this fiscal too, with overall growth crossing 18 percent, surpassing the $6.65 billion target," said Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) executive director S.C. Shukla. The Nafta region has assumed a significant position in Indian export plans, particularly engineering products. This is in view of the free trade agreement between countries of the region, "which provides enormous opportunities for bilateral trade," according to D.K. Mittal, joint secretary in the commerce ministry. He was addressing a special session organised by EEPC here Monday. Among the manufactured exports from India, the engineering sector has been recording spectacular growth, rising from $10.84 million in 1956-57 to about $6 billion in 2001-02, said EEPC chairman Satish K. Dhanda. India's overall exports to the Nafta region are estimated to touch $12 billion this fiscal, with engineering products expected to be around $1.5 billion. "Engineering exports to the Nafta region are far below potential mainly due to a lack of focus on the potential sub-sectors," said Mittal. Under a focused approach for boosting exports to the Nafta region, India has set a target of $25 billion by 2006-07. This is being followed up with concerted marketing promotion through trade participation such as the India-tech fair in Mexico later this year.
Source: IANS