Amazon eyes $5 billion in sales from Indian exporters this year in bid to move away from China sourcing

Amazon Inc intends to help Indian exporters sell $5 billion worth of small-ticket items through its platform this year in the United States and Britain, compared to almost $3 billion in 2023, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting a company official.

Under Amazon's Global Selling programme, launched in 2015, nearly 1.5 lakh small Indian exporters are expected to sell their products directly to foreign buyers on the Amazon e-commerce platform, as per the report.

“We are investing significantly in tools and technologies to help sellers optimise their reach, enhance product discovery, and increase sales,” Bhupen Wakankar, director of global trade at Amazon, told the news agency.

Amazon is in line to help tens of thousands of Indian businesses achieve a cumulative $13 billion in e-commerce exports by the end of 2024, according to a company statement cited in the report.

Amazon's move highlights India's role in the global supply chain and reflects the larger trend among multinational corporations to diversify sourcing away from China, according to the report.

In 2020, Walmart Inc also said the brand plans to increase its supplies from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, compared to nearly $3 billion at that time, as per the report.

Amazon has partnered with the Ministry of Commerce in India and trade associations to connect with small manufacturers across the country, offering products like textiles and jewellery to household items and Ayurveda products, said the report quoting Wakankar.

Products like these are easy to send to customers abroad and they attract less import taxes than other costlier items.

E-commerce in India:

According to the report, Amazon and Walmart have reshaped India's retail landscape in recent years, investing billions of dollars to source supplies from small businesses and attract consumers with bigger discounts, even though they are facing criticism from trading and political groups.

Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal accused Amazon and other e-commerce companies of predatory pricing strategies and also said that the sector's rapid growth should not disrupt millions of brick-and-mortar stores in India, as per the report.

In June, Amazon announced plans to increase its India investments to $26 billion by 2030, including funding its cloud business. The company aims to create $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2025, said Wakankar, according to the report.