iPhone Exports From India Surpass $2.5 Bn Mark In April-December 2022

Tech giant Apple reportedly exported more than $2.5 Bn worth of iPhones from India during April-December 2022, nearly double than the exports in the entire financial year 2021-22 (FY22), highlighting the rapid shift in its production to outside China.

Apple suppliers Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp shipped more than $1 Bn of iPhones each outside India in the first nine months of FY23, Bloomberg reported.

Another Apple contract manufacturer Pegatron Corp is also on track to export about $500 Mn of iPhones from India by the end of January 2023, as per the report.

Amid a trade war and rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China, China’s zero Covid policy and sweeping pandemic-related restrictions, Apple is shifting a significant amount of its production outside China. Apple has reportedly also asked its suppliers to move some production of AirPods and Beats to India, besides iPhones.

Apple started manufacturing its latest iPhone 14 in India in September.

According to a recent report by brokerage JP Morgan, Apple may manufacture one out of four iPhones in India by 2025. The production shift will not be limited to iPhones, as around 25% of all Apple products, including Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, are expected to be manufactured outside China by 2025.

The Indian government’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost manufacturing of mobile and related components in India also led to Apple taking the decision to move some of its manufacturing to the country.

iPhone maker Apple witnessed strong double-digit revenue growth in India in the September quarter.of 2022.

“Across nearly every geographic segment, we reached a new revenue record for the quarter. And we continue to perform incredibly well in emerging markets with very strong double-digit growth in India, Southeast Asia and Latin America,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the company’s earnings call.

Meanwhile, Apple is also hiring for its flagship Apple Stores in India and the company plans to open two such stores within weeks.

Apple accounted for 3.54% of the total Indian smartphone market at the end of December 2022. It competes with Samsung, Xiaomi, Google, and Huawei, among others, in the fast-growing Indian market.