Amazon plans $5 bln of small-ticket exports from India in 2024 in shift from China
By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI, Sept 5 (Reuters) -Amazon Inc AMZN.O plans to export about $5 billion of small-ticket items from India this year, up from nearly $3 billion in 2023, supplying markets such as the United States and Britain, a company official said, marking a shift away from China.
The move by one of the world's largest e-commerce companies underscores India's growing role in the global supply chain and reflects a broader trend among multinational corporations to diversify sourcing away from China.
Walmart Inc WMT.N plans to hike its supplies from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, up from about $3 billion in 2020.
"India is naturally one of the largest sources of selection for Amazon," Bhupen Wakankar, director of global trade at Amazon, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
He said Amazon had partnered with the India's commerce ministry and trade associations to connect with thousands of small manufacturers across the country, offering products from textiles and jewellery to household items and Ayurveda products.
Such items are usually easy to post directly to customers abroad and less affected by import taxes than costlier products.
"We are investing significantly in tools and technologies to help sellers optimise their reach, enhance product discovery, and increase sales," he said, ahead of an exporters' meeting in New Delhi.
Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart have reshaped India's retail landscape in recent years, investing billions of dollars to source supplies from small businesses and attracting consumers through hefty discounts.
But they face criticism from trading and political groups.
India's commerce minister has accused Amazon and other e-commerce companies of predatory pricing practices and said the sector's rapid rise should not disrupt millions of brick-and-mortar stores operating in the country.
Last June, Amazon announced plans to increase its investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, including funds for its cloud business.
Through the Global Selling Programme, initiated in 2015, Amazon has enabled about 150,000 small Indian exporters to sell roughly $8 billion worth of products directly to overseas consumers by the end of 2023, Wakankar said.
The company aims to facilitate $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2025, he added.
Reporting by Manoj Kumar
Editing by Mark Potter
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
