Kolkata, Feb 10 (PTI) The country's engineering exports have increased by 18.69 per cent in January this year and demand for such products in the international markets is expected to be steady in the remaining two months of the current fiscal, an industry body said on Wednesday.

Engineering Export Promotion Council of India said shipments for January 2021 have gone up to USD 7,174.43 million from USD 6,011.43 million in the same month last fiscal, raising the prospects for February and March.

"The government has extended a helping hand to engineering exporters in the Union budget by taking measures aimed at reining in prices of steel, the key raw material. Exporters have navigated the post-COVID global market with innovative offerings to their buyers," EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai said.

According to an assessment by the EEPC India, a recovery in the external demand has been witnessed in the past few months in markets of the US and Europe, besides several key Asian economies, he said.

Engineering exporters had faced headwinds even in December for high steel prices, he said.

"Market diversification, helped by the PLI scheme, would go a long way in scaling up the engineering exports which contribute about 25 per cent of the country's total merchandise export basket," Desai said in a statement.

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