Walmart is making a gradual shift to India for import of goods and moving away from China, said Reuters citing data from Import Yeti. The move by the world's largest retailer appears to be aimed at cutting costs and diversifying supply chains.
Between January and August this year, Walmart shipped a quarter of its imports to US from India. In 2018, the figure was just 2 per cent.
During the same period in the year 2018, the retailer shipped 80 per cent of its imports from China. The number has come down to 60 per cent. China still remains Walmart's biggest country for imports.
The shift is reportedly due to rising import costs from China. Political tension between the US and China is making large US firms to make more imports from countries like India, Thailand and Vietnam.
"We want the best prices," Andrea Albright, Walmart's executive vice president of sourcing as quoted by Reuters.
"That means I need resiliency in our supply chains. I can't be reliant on any one supplier or geography for my product because we're constantly managing things from hurricanes and earthquakes to shortages in raw materials."
In a statement, Walmart reportedly said that the data was reflecting reality in a partial manner and that it "does not necessarily mean" that the retail giant was moving away from one of its sourcing market.
"We're a growth business and are working to source more manufacturing capacity," Walmart said.
Walmart bought 77 per cent stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart in the year 2018. Since then it has been growing operations. It has committed that it will import USD 10 billion worth of goods from India each year by 2027. The company is on track to hit the target, said Albright.
At present, Walmart is importing USD 3 billion worth of goods from India per year.
India is increasingly being viewed as country that's best positioned and equipped to compete with and outperform China when low-cost, large-scale manufacturing is concerned.
In May this year, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM later described the meeting "a fruitful one".
"Happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment," Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on May 14.
(With inputs from agencies)