India's engineering shipments to key markets like Sri Lanka, UAE and China plummeted in April amid a 19 per cent decline in the sector which slipped in terms of its contribution to the country's overall export basket, according to industry body EEPC India.

The engineering exporters' body said country's engineering exports to Sri Lanka witnessed a degrowth of over 90 per cent, falling to mere $63 million in April 2016 from $648 million in the same month last year, marked by a huge fall in exports of aircraft and spacecraft parts.

Likewise, shipments to UAE fell by 46 per cent to $331 million from $613 million in the face of the Middle East witnessing a major slump in investment in oil and infrastructure sectors, EEPC India said.

India's engineering exports to China, comprising mainly of basic metals and iron ore, dropped 57.6 per cent to $102.6 million from $242.50 million as the Chinese economy is facing a major upheaval, it said.

Declining for 17th straight month in April, exports dipped by 6.74 per cent to $20.5 billion due to sharp fall in shipments of petroleum and engineering products amid tepid global demand.

Imports too declined by 23.1 per cent to $25.41 billion in the month under review as against $33 billion in April 2015.

US remains the top destination for the country's engineering exports with shipments totalling $502 million in April 2016 from $625 million a year ago. However, the fall in shipments to this market has also been above 19 per cent on the back of a sharp drop in exports of steel and its products.

"The going has never been as bad in the last several years. Such a situation warrants a big stimulus from the government in terms of interest subvention, hike in the drawback rates and further improvement in the ease of doing business," EEPC India Chairman T S Bhasin said.

The engineering goods sector recorded a massive decline in exports by almost 19 per cent to $4.6 billion during April 2016-17.

The fall in engineering exports in April was driven by sectors like aircraft and spacecraft, non-ferrous sectors like zinc, tin and nickel products and iron and steel products.

(PTI)