ICCK

Apple’s iPhone exports from India jumped by a third in the six months through Sept, underscoring its push to expand manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on China.
The US company exported nearly $6 billion of India-made iPhones, an increase of a third in value terms from a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the information is private. That puts annual exports on track to surpass the about $10 billion of fiscal FY24.

Apple is expanding its manufacturing network in India at a rapid clip, taking advantage of local subsidies, a skilled workforce and advances in the country’s technological capabilities. India is a crucial part of the company’s effort to lessen its reliance on China, where risks have grown along with Beijing’s tensions with the US.

Three of Apple’s suppliers — Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, Pegatron and homegrown Tata Electronics — assemble iPhones in southern India. Foxconn’s local unit, based on the outskirts of Chennai, is the top supplier in India and accounts for half of the country’s iPhone exports.

Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group’s electronics manufacturing arm exported about $1.7 billion in iPhones from its factory in Karnataka state from April to Sept, the people said. Tata acquired this unit from Wistron last year, becoming the first Indian assembler of Apple’s bestselling product. The dollar figure refers to the devices’ estimated factory gate value, not the retail price. Representatives for Apple declined to comment. Pegatron also declined to comment, while Foxconn and Tata spokespersons didn’t respond to requests for comment.

IPhones account for the bulk of India’s smartphone exports and helped the product category become the top export to the US at $2.9 billion in the first five months of this fiscal year, according to federal trade ministry data. Five years ago, before Apple expanded manufacturing in India, the country’s annual smartphone exports to the US were a meagre $5.2 million.

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