"Indian engineering industry can easily meet the ambitious export target of $12 billion set during the current financial year," Menon said at the 'Indo-LAC Business Meet' in New Delhi.

Projecting a total growth rate of 20 per cent for the sector against last year's $10.1 billion, he said "government was ready to provide any type of support for boosting export including infrastructural facilities."

During the meeting, organised by the Engineering Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce, Menon asked the exporters to tap new markets and improve product quality to establish Indian brands in the global market. India's engineering goods exports to Latin America is expected to grow by 18.5 per cent at $320 million this fiscal compared to the last financial year.

Menon said this, however, constituted only about half per cent of India's total annual engineering exports of $10.1 billion and that the government was making all efforts to enhance it to at least one per cent.

Comparing India with China, Menon said while the latter exported about $17 billion worth of goods to the Latin American countries in 2003-04, India's total exports stood to the region stood at a meagre $1.5 billion.