Those who kept goods moving during Covid deserve praise

India’s merchandise trade balance went into a surplus of about $790 million in June, for the first time in 18 years, on the back of better-than-expected exports and a steep fall in imports. Exports did better than previous months as India and many other countries relaxed the lockdowns easing supply chain bottlenecks. Improved money supply helped revive the global demand. However, the demand in the domestic economy did not pick up enough.

The positive growth in exports came from farm and plantation products such as oil seeds, oil meals, rice, spices, other cereals, fruits & vegetables, cereal preparations, and miscellaneous processed