The Hindu Business Line : EEPC opens out to CIS nations

INDIAN engineering industry is not only looking at the developed markets but also developing markets like the CIS countries and the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has invited a delegation from the CIS region to participate in buyer-seller meets during March in India, according to Mr C.S. Shukla, Executive Director, EEPC, New Delhi.

He said the EEPC is opening an India Engineering Centre (IEC) in Chicago in the US as part of efforts to expand the US market for Indian engineering goods and is also relocating the centre from Lagos to Johannesburg in South Africa in view of its strategic location in serving not only the African market but the Latin American market too.

Speaking to newsmen in Coimbatore, he said EEPC had some months back had organised an India Tech exhibition in Almaty in Kazhakastan which elicited interest among the buyers there. As a follow up to that show, the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mr E.V.K.S. Elangovan had led a 60-member delegation to Almaty that returned only last week.

During the visit, an agreement for the establishment of a joint venture for the manufacture of batteries and UPS units in Kazhakastan at an investment of $1.5 million was signed. There were indications that further agreements for investment up to $10 million were possible. The second agreement was for construction machinery in Uzbekistan at a cost of $1 million and another for manufacture of machinery for food processing industry involving $2 million in the same country.

Mr Shukla said a CIS delegation will be visiting India to hold discussions with Indian companies in buyer-seller meets scheduled to be held during March 22-26 in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai which would provide an opportunity for more number of Indian companies to interact with buyers from the CIS region.

He said export of engineering goods has been witnessing an upswing and compared to 2003-04 exports figure of $10.8 billion, this year's target has been revised from $11.50 billion to $12.75 billion at the instance of Union Commerce Ministry. EEPC has estimated that by 2008-09, the engineering exports would touch $30 billion, recording a 25 per cent annual growth. He said the pattern of exports also had undergone a tremendous change both in terms of `composition and direction.' The fact that the US and the EU are the major buyers of Indian engineering goods certified the quality and competitiveness of these products.

He said the EEPC is opening an India Engineering Centre (IEC) in Chicago, USA in a 5,000 sq.ft area that would have 50 windows to display products of Indian companies. The warehousing facility would be outsourced and every quarter, a buyer-seller meet would be organised. The Chicago project would cost about Rs 3 crore. EEPC has also decided to shift its office from Lagos to Johannesburg to serve better both African and Latin American markets.

Engineering exports to ASEAN region was around $1.2 billion, constituting around 10 per cent of the total engineering goods exports. EEPC is organising an India Tech in Jakarta in March and the seminar was part of efforts to encourage Coimbatore based companies to participate in the exhibition there.

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