By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Amazon Inc expects to help Indian exporters sell about $5 billion worth of small items through its platform this year in markets such as the United States and Britain, up from nearly $3 billion in 2023, a company said corporate officer .
Under the Amazon (NASDAQ:) Global Selling program, launched in 2015, nearly 150,000 small exporters across India are expected to sell their products directly to foreign consumers through the company’s e-commerce platform.
“We are investing significantly in tools and technologies to help sellers optimize their reach, improve product discovery and increase sales,” Bhupen Wakankar, director of global trade at Amazon, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday, ahead of a meeting of exporters in New Delhi.
Amazon is on track to help tens of thousands of Indian companies surpass $13 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports by the end of 2024, a company statement said.
The move by one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies underlines India’s growing role in the global supply chain and reflects a broader trend among multinational companies to diversify their offerings beyond China.
Walmart (NYSE:) Inc said in 2020 that it planned to increase its shipments from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, up from about $3 billion at the time.
Wakankar said Amazon has worked with India’s Ministry of Commerce and trade associations to connect with small manufacturers across the country offering products from textiles and jewelry to homewares and Ayurveda products.
Such items are usually easy to ship directly to customers abroad and are less affected by import taxes than more expensive products.
Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart have reshaped India’s retail landscape in recent years, investing billions of dollars in small business delivery and attracting consumers with deep discounts.
But they face criticism from trade and political groups.
India’s commerce minister has accused Amazon and other e-commerce companies of predatory pricing practices, saying the sector’s meteoric rise should not disrupt the country’s millions of brick-and-mortar stores.
Last June, Amazon announced plans to increase its investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, including funds for its cloud business.
The company aims to facilitate $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2025, Wakankar added.
