- Apple reached the billion-dollar export mark in December for its iPhones in India.
- Apple exports iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus from India.
- Electronics exports in India in the final three quarters of 2022 rose nearly 52 percent YoY.
Apple became the first company to cross the milestone of $1 billion (around Rs 8,100 crore) in total exports of smartphones in a single month from India, hitting the mark in December last year. According to an ET report, the Cupertino tech giant shipped out $1 billion worth of iPhones in December alone. Apple had already surpassed Samsung as the leading exporter of smartphones from India in November.
Apple’s rising export valuation in India is in line with growing electronics exports from India’s manufacturing facilities, which grew by over 51 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the final three quarters of 2022. it is worth noting that Samsung’s major production unit in India was closed for 10-15 days as part of regular maintenance last quarter, which had an impact on the export figures.
Apple’s growing market impact in India
Apple has three contract manufacturers in India — Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron, which presently manufacture devices including iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus in India. Besides, some smaller manufacturers also export iPhones out of India. Foxconn and Pegatron are based out of Tamil Nadu, while Wistron has its unit in Karnataka. The companies are expected to contribute to a target of $9 billion in mobile phone exports in India in FY23, according to the ET report.
Apple’s rising export numbers come amid a growing demand phase as well for the company in India. Apple’s iPhone 13 was one of the top-selling smartphones in India in October. The company has continued to see a sustained growth phase in the country buoyed by the festive season sales, amid a phase of degrowth in the country.
As far as exports are concerned, Apple’s figure of $1 billion in exports of its smartphones comes as overall electronics exports hit $16.69 billion — up 51.56% from $10.99 billion for the same period last year. The electronics segment is an outlier and the poster segment for India’s export economy which noted a 12.2% decline in merchandising exports in December 2022.
Apple is looking at India as a great manufacturing prospect as it aims to concentrate on operations outside of China. As per earlier reports, the Cupertino company has plans to speed up the iPhone 15 production in India. iPhone 14’s production in India and China also started simultaneously, as per a renowned Apple analyst.
