New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) India's merchandise exports plunged by over 34 per cent in March on a year-on-year basis to $21.41 billion from $32.72 billion reported for the corresponding period of the previous year.

Similarly, on a sequential basis, exports were higher than $27.65 billion worth of merchandise which were shipped out in February.

"The decline in exports has been mainly due to the ongoing global slowdown, which got aggravated due to the current Covid-19 crisis. The latter resulted in large-scale disruptions in supply chains and demand resulting in cancellation of orders," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.

"Except for iron ore, which registered a growth of 58.43 per cent, all other commodity groups have registered negative growth in March 2020 vis-a-vs March 2019."

--IANS rv/sn/prs