Engineering Export Promotion Council India (EEPC India) in its latest data has showed India’s engineering exports to the UAE (the second-largest market) and Saudi Arabia (the fourth-largest market) fell sharply in March 2026 as ongoing West Asia conflict has severely disrupted global shipping, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. Engineering exports to the UAE declined by 66.8 per cent to $237.4 million in March as compared to $714.8 million in the same period of the previous year, while shipments to Saudi Arabia dropped by 45 per cent to $247.7 million in March as compared to $450.5 million in March 2025.    

Data indicated that despite challenges in key West Asian markets, the overall engineering sector exports during March were up 1.13 per cent to $10.94 billion compared with $10.82 billion in March 2025. During 2025-26, overall engineering shipments from India reached an all-time high of $122.43 billion as compared with $116.75 billion in the previous fiscal, registering growth of 4.86 per cent. The target is to take it to $250 billion by 2030. It said among the top export destination countries, shipments to the UAE and Saudi Arabia slumped 10 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, while exports to the USA as the largest consumer increased 2 per cent in 2025-26. The share of the sector in the country's total merchandise exports in 2025-26 was 27.71 per cent. The share in March 2026 is even better at 28.11 per cent. 

Going forward, it said the combination of sectoral resilience, market diversification, and targeted policy interventions will remain critical for sustaining export momentum and progressing towards long-term export targets. It noted that record high exports of Indian engineering in the last fiscal year was led by high exports of motor vehicles/cars, copper and its products, iron and steel, electric machinery and equipment, two- and three-wheelers, products of iron and steel, industrial machinery, other construction machinery, and auto components/parts among others.