Apple set to choose India over China to boost production: Report

US tech giant Apple is looking at India and Vietnam to boost productions outside China, according to a report.

“Apple Inc. has told some of its contract manufacturers that it wants to boost production outside China, citing Beijing’s strict anti-Covid policy among other reasons, people involved in the discussions said,” according to a report in Wall Street Journal.

India and Vietnam, already sites for a small portion of Apple’s global production, are among the countries getting a closer look from the company as alternatives to China, the people said, the report added.

According to a report on Forbes, Apple could lose $8 billion in sales revenue due to supply chain shortages primarily caused by China’s Covid lockdown policies, the company said in a second-quarter conference call last month.

In April, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company’s supply chain is “truly global”.

However, the reality is that Apple is tremendously reliant on the country for manufacturing, and this relationship has caused headaches for the company, investors, and consumers during the pandemic, a Bloomberg report said.

According to research firm Counterpoint, the proportion of iPhones manufactured in India is likely to go up to 6-7% from 3.1% this year.

In April, Apple announced that it has started production of iPhone 13 in India. “We are excited to begin making iPhone 13 — with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip — right here in India for our local customers,” Apple said.

Foxconn facility near Chennai manufactures iPhone 13 in India.