New Delhi, June 26 : India's engineering goods exports crossed the $12-billion mark for the first time in May, rising 24.48 per cent year-on-year to hit a record despite geopolitical tensions in West Asia and disruptions to global trade, as per industry data released on Friday.

The Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) India said that engineering shipments stood at $12.31 billion in May 2026, compared with $9.89 billion in the corresponding month last year, according to the latest quick estimates released by the government.

The sector accounted for 27.2 per cent of India's total merchandise exports during the month, it added.

The strong performance was driven by higher exports of electric machinery and equipment, ships, boats and floating structures, motor vehicles, and iron and steel products.

As many as 28 of the 34 engineering product panels recorded positive export growth during the month.

Commenting on the performance, EEPC India Chairman Pankaj Chadha said that as global companies are reworking their supply chains to reduce overreliance on a single country, especially China, new opportunities are emerging for Indian engineering firms.

"The support of the Commerce Ministry in terms of faster policy relief, cheaper trade finance, and stronger risk protection would also be of utmost importance in this regard," he said.

With the proper guidance of the government, we will be able to achieve the desired export target of $250 billion by 2030, Chadha said.

Region-wise, North America remained the largest market for Indian engineering goods, accounting for 19.3 per cent of exports in May, followed by West Asia and North Africa (16.7 per cent) and the European Union (15.2 per cent).

The exports to the West Asia and North Africa region rose about 44 per cent in May despite the geopolitical crisis, while shipments to the region were up 14 per cent during April-May.

/IANS