The government is trying to develop newer markets for exports of engineering goods. Latin America, Africa and the ASEAN region and CIS are the new geographies being explored, a source informed ISMW.
Because the western economies are in slowdown mode, it is imperative to tap newer geographies and, according to the source, the future lies in Latin America, African countries and the ASEAN region.
So far, there has been negligible presence of Indian engineering goods in these geographies, especially Latin America, because of logistical reasons. “It takes 45-60 days for a shipment to arrive in Latin America from India, which is time-consuming, indeed. And, equally importantly, Latin America is more habituated to shipments from the traditional European and US markets. But, we are trying to break the ice. So, now, exporters from India are sending shipments to countries like Peru and Chile,” the source indicated.
The export volumes mainly include fabricated and casting products apart from some ferro alloy business.
“That apart, some large Indian companies like Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra are also increasing their exposure in Latin American countries and we are betting big on demand from these companies as well,” said an exporter.
The target is to increase exports of engineering goods from India by 15 percent year-on-year.
While expecting the drop to sustain till March 2016, the source said that next year, if the global economy starts improving, then engineering exports volumes from India should increase, especially since the US economy is improving.
“India has a better chance because the US is bringing in anti-dumping measures against China, Turkey etc.”