Singapore squeezes out US to become India’s top engineering importer

India’s industrial machinery sales to Singapore skyrocketed 95 percent in April from a year earlier, to $553 million. Singapore is now India’s leading engineering importer, having replaced the United States.

According to India’s Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), the country’s overall engineering exports, comprising industrial machinery and auto parts, contracted in April and May due to the Covid-19 pandemic and weak global demand. They constitute nearly a quarter of the country’s total goods exports.

“Singapore has replaced the US as the number one destination for Indian engineering exports,” EEPC chairman Ravi Sehgal was quoted as saying by Reuters. Data showed that engineering exports to the United States plunged 75 percent in April to $222 million. 

Meanwhile, exports to China were up 19 percent year-on-year to $173 million. India’s total engineering exports were down 63.9 percent in April to $2.31 billion from $6.4 billion.

Over the last few years, Singapore has emerged among the top 10 destinations for Indian engineering exporters, with exports of more than $80 billion in 2018-2019. It imports electrical machinery, components, aircraft and ship parts and non-ferrous metal.

According to the EEPC, there was a more than a five-fold rise in exports of non-ferrous metal to Singapore in April from a year earlier.

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