India’s trade minister told a conference on Monday that Apple Inc. wants the country to account for up to 25% of its production, up from about 5-7% currently. This comes as the iPhone maker continues to move its manufacturing away from China.
Piyush Goyal made the case that India is a competitive manufacturing destination by saying, “Apple, another success story.” About 5-7 percent of their production currently takes place in India. If my memory serves me correctly, their goal is to produce 25% of their own products. They introduced the most recent models, which were made in India.
Apple’s target date was not specified by Goyal. Apple did not respond to a request for comment right away.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has placed a significant bet on India ever since it began manufacturing iPhones there in 2017 with Foxconn and Wistron, following the Indian government’s push for local manufacturing.
Sources told Reuters late last year that Foxconn intends to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over the course of two years.
India’s electronics and information technology minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, tweeted on Monday that Apple exported $1 billion in goods to India in December.
Apple’s plans to move production elsewhere have been influenced by China’s Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions and the growing trade and geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Analysts at J.P.Morgan said last year that by 2025, a quarter of all Apple products would be made outside of China, up from 5 percent now.
