Soaring digital thermometer import shows Covid-19 pandemic reading

From Covid-19 essentials, such as Vitamin C supplements and thermometers, to bicycles, laptops, and personal weighing scales, demand for certain items galloped during last financial year as the pandemic altered what Indians used on a day-to-day basis.

Imports of outdoor sports equipment, handbags for women, and dentures, among others, plummeted.

With outdoor activities coming to a halt last year and schools functioning virtually, imports of sports goods witnessed a decline, while inbound shipments of laptops and battery chargers saw a sharp uptick, according to the import data for the financial year 2020-21.

The import numbers of sporting goods like basketball, badminton shuttlecocks, racquets,