The iPhone exports number from India underscores Apple’s shift from manufacturing in China amid the chaotic situation at its facility in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
iPhone exports from India nearly doubled in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2023, according to a Bloomberg report. Apple exported over $2.5 billion of iPhones in April-December from the country.
According to the media report, more than $1 billion iPhones have been shipped abroad each by Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corporation in April-December. Another major contract manufacturer for Apple – Pegatron Corporation – is on track to move about $500 million of the devices overseas by the end of January, sources told Bloomberg.
The numbers underscore Apple’s shift from manufacturing in China amid the chaotic situation at its facility in Zhengzhou city due to the country’s zero-Covid policy. Production at the world’s largest iPhone plant was affected due to the tumult at what is also known as the iPhone city where workers protested against the delay in bonuses, food shortages, and poor living conditions caused by the stringent Covid restrictions in the country.
Due to the unrest, Apple could at one point stand to lose close to six million iPhone Pro models, Bloomberg previously reported. Owing to this, the American consumer tech giant is reportedly looking to move some of its production outside China and is planning to expand its production capabilities in mainly two Asian countries- India and Vietnam, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
Reports also suggested that Foxconn is planning to expand its workforce four times in the next two years at the company’s plant in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. On the other hand, India’s Tata group is in talks to buy Apple’s Wistron facility in Karnataka for up to Rs 5000 crores.
