In the six months ending in September, Apple Inc.’s iPhone exports from India increased by a third, highlighting the company’s efforts to increase domestic production and lessen its reliance on China.

The US-based company exported around $6 billion worth of iPhones built in India, a third more in value terms than a year before. As a result, exports are expected to exceed about $10 billion in fiscal 2024.

With the help of trained labour, local incentives, and advancements in the nation’s technological capabilities, Apple is rapidly growing its production network in India. The company’s efforts to reduce its reliance on China, where dangers have increased in tandem with Beijing’s tensions with the US, heavily rely on India.

iPhones are assembled in southern India by three of Apple’s suppliers: domestic company Tata Electronics, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, and Pegatron Corp. With its headquarters on the outskirts of Chennai, Foxconn’s local unit is India’s leading supplier and is responsible for half of the nation’s iPhone exports.

The electronics manufacturing division of the salt-to-software giant Tata Group exported over $1.7 billion worth of iPhones from its Karnataka state factory. By purchasing this division from Wistron Corp. last year, Tata became the first Indian company to assemble Apple’s best-selling product.

Instead of the retail price, the dollar figure represents the product’s estimated factory gate value. Apple officials declined to comment. Pegatron also declined to comment, and representatives from Foxconn and Tata did not respond to requests for comment.

The majority of India’s exports are smartphones, according to data from the Federal Trade Ministry. In the first five months of the current fiscal year, the product category reached $2.88 billion, making smartphones the country’s largest export to the US. India barely sent $5.2 million worth of smartphones to the US annually before Apple boosted its operations there five years ago.

With Apple controlling just under 7% of the Indian smartphone market, Chinese firms like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo continue to dominate the market. Apple is making large bets even if the worldwide market for iPhones is still small.

This year, Apple was able to produce its expensive iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models that feature titanium bodies and improved cameras. Additionally, the company is looking to open new retail locations, such as in Pune, a city in western India, and Bangalore, a tech hotspot in the south.

Tim Cook, the company’s CEO, opened Apple’s first stores in the capital city of New Delhi and the financial centre of Mumbai last year.

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