India March trade gap widens as exports fall for first time in 5 months

India’s merchandise exports in March fell 0.7 percent year-on -year, for the first time in five months, and the trade deficit widened to $13.69 billion because of a surge in imports, government data showed on Friday.

Merchandise exports last month fell to $29.1 billion year-on-year while imports rose 7.15 percent to $42.8 billion, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.