Exports jump 60% in March to $34.5 bn; trade deficit widens to $14 billion

India’s merchandise exports surged to $34.45 billion, up 60 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March, on the back of a low base effect in the lockdown-hit corresponding month last year.
On a sequential basis, the growth in merchandise exports was 23 per cent, the data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on Thursday showed. In terms of value of exports, it has surpassed previous high of $32.55 in March 2019 — nearly a year before the outbreak of the pandemic, signaling recovery in demand.