Electronics export in India grew 56% in Q1, emerge as 4th largest item

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Electronics became the fourth-largest item to be exported from India in the June quarter, as the category grew the fastest amongst the top 30 exported items.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, electronics exports grew over 56 per cent in the April-June period, reaching Rs 57,220.24 crore, as against Rs 36,533.18 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

In fact, electronics is the only sector to record growth in the top five categories of exports, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).

At this rate, experts said, electronics may emerge as the third-largest category of exports in the coming quarters as its gap with the current gems and jewellery segment is narrowing fast.

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The electronics category has overtaken the chemicals and drugs, and pharmaceuticals to jump from the sixth-largest exports category to become the fourth-largest in Q1FY24.

The electronics category has significantly narrowed the gap with gems and jewellery exports, which had been leading in Q1 by Rs 4,660 crore. This stark reduction in the gap, compared to a year ago when it was more than nine times higher at Rs 42,449 crore, indicates the rapid growth of the electronics sector, according to the ET report.

The surge in the electronics sector is led by mobile phones, which have shown tremendous growth following the introduction of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme in 2020. In the last 15 months, mobile phones have contributed 52 per cent to the total electronics exports from India in the first quarter of the current fiscal, amounting to Rs 30,000 crore. This marks a significant increase from the 38 per cent contribution seen a year ago.

Apple’s iPhones have played a dominant role in exports, constituting 35 per cent of all electronics exports and 66 per cent of total mobile exports in FYQ1.

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In the June quarter, iPhone exports from India crossed Rs 20,000 crore. Its three contract makers — Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron, and Pegatron — have committed exports of Rs 61,000 crore in FY24, or the third year of the PLI scheme for mobile phones.