India’s mobile phone export market is growing dramatically every quarter while the import market is gradually declining. Interestingly the Monthly mobile phone exports from India hit a record US$1 billion (over Rs8,200) for the first time in September 2022. This is a great achievement for local mobile device manufacturers. It is also worth noting that the estimated value of equipment exported in September 2022 increased by more than 200% compared to September 2021.
In December 2021, India exported approximately US$770 million worth of mobile devices, making it the country’s second-highest monthly export.
According to ETPrime, mobile phone exports more than doubled to $4.2 billion between April and September 2022, from just $1.7 billion in the same period in 2021.
What are the key factors driving India’s mobile device exports?
This high global demand for Indian-made mobile phones was fueled by the Indian government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. This 40,995 crore PLI program was announced in April 2020. Since then, the government has been pushing all local and global mobile OEMs like Apple and Samsung to ramp up production of smartphones in India. As a result, growth in India-made mobile phone exports will be mainly driven by Samsung and Apple contract manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron.
It is important to note that global manufacturers account for 75-80% of total mobile phone exports from India.
India’s cellular industry is heavily focused on lower tariffs, improved logistics, labor reforms and a deeper ecosystem to sustain high growth, said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). speaking to ET.
In 2016-2017 mobile exports accounted for only 1% of Indian production. However, this number has increased dramatically in recent years. Interestingly, India’s exports of mobile devices accounted for a whopping 16% of production in 2021-2022, and this percentage is expected to increase to 22% of production in 2022-2023.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is leaving no stone unturned to persuade some of the world’s top mobile device exporters to establish their bases in India instead of China and Vietnam. If all goes according to plan, India is expected to export up to $60 billion worth of mobile devices by 2025-26.
Aside from this plan, the government is considering banning Chinese smartphones priced under 12,000 rupees (under $150) in India to support local manufacturers.
According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi continues to lead the Indian smartphone market in the second quarter of 2022 with a shipment share of 19%. Closely followed by Samsung. On the other hand, India’s feature phone market is dominated by itel with a 25% share in the second quarter of 2022.
