Addressing a meeting with export promotion councils of various sectors, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal urged exporters to target over 25% growth in 2021-22 so as to take merchandise exports to $400 billion and promised them government support. Earlier, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan stressed that India’s exports, excluding gems and jewellery and petroleum products, had grown by 1% in 2020-21 despite the COVID-19 disruption. He added that he expected exports to grow significantly this year. The WTO estimates world merchandise trade volume to rebound by 8% in 2021 after falling 5.3% in 2020.
