沃爾瑪轉向印度，削減中國進口 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Walmart shifts to India, cuts China imports (2/2)

Updated Thu, November 30, 2023 at 1:20 a.m. GMT+8

By Richa Naidu and Siddharth Cavale

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WORKFORCE, TECHNOLOGY ARE KEY DRAWS

Walmart is importing goods ranging from toys and electronics to bicycles and pharmaceuticals from India to the U.S., Albright said. Packaged food, dry grains and pasta are also popular imports from India, she added.

India, whose stock market has risen to record highs this year, is viewed as the country best equipped to outperform China in low-cost, large-scale manufacturing.

Its rapidly growing workforce and technological advancement were a draw for Walmart, Albright said. China on the other hand reported its first decline in population in six decades last year.

Walmart started its sourcing operations in Bangalore in 2002. Now, the company employs more than 100,000 people, including temporary workers, in the country spread across several offices under its Walmart Global Tech India unit, Flipkart Group, PhonePe and sourcing operations.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May this year, a meeting that Modi termed "a fruitful one."

"Happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment," Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on May 14. McMillon said Walmart would "continue to support the country's manufacturing growth and create opportunity."

Walmart rival Amazon said this month it is targeting merchandise exports worth $20 billion from India by 2025.

Freewill Sports, a small Indian supplier of soccer balls, is one company that has benefited, its Chief Executive Rajesh Kharabanda said in an interview.

The rising cost of shipping goods from China has also contributed to the switch to India, supply chain experts say.

"Sourcing from mainland China has become less competitive because of rising labor costs versus other manufacturing centers," said Chris Rogers, research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence's supply chain analysis group Panjiva.

China's minimum wage changes from province to province and sometimes even from city to city, with a range between 1,420 yuan per month and 2,690 yuan per month ($198.52 - $376.08). Meanwhile, average wages for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in India range from about 9,000 Indian rupees to 15,000 Indian rupees a month ($108.04 - $180.06), according to central bank estimates.

SUPPLY CHAIN SNAGS

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in global supply chains, showing U.S. importers to be over-reliant on a small number of markets.

"Planning for a geopolitical event is like planning for a hurricane," said Albright. "What I can control is where my product is coming from and how do I make sure that Christmas still happens if something happens in our supply chain."

Pakistan and Bangladesh have also benefited from Walmart's strategy, expanding as suppliers of home and apparel products, Albright said.

Last year, at least eight Freewill shipments sailed to Walmart warehouses from Mundra Port in Gujarat, the largest private port in India, according to U.S. import data.

"There is a newfound confidence in the Indian manufacturing industry and also the availability of factory infrastructure," Freewill's Chief Executive Rajesh Kharabanda said in an interview.

India's central bank forecasts that the country's economy will expand 6.5% this fiscal year. China is expected to grow around 5% this year.

"In the last 12 to 18 months there has certainly been a bigger impact," said Shekhar Gupta, whose family business Devgiri has been selling floor rugs to Walmart for about a decade. "That's when Walmart started putting a true strategy behind how they wanted India at the center of their growth."

($1 = 7.1528 Chinese yuan renminbi)

($1 = 83.3050 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Richa Naidu and Siddharth Cavale; additional reporting by Casey Hall and Manoj Kumar. Editing by Matthew Scuffham and Sharon Singleton)

Translation

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勞動力和技術是關鍵吸引力

Albright 說，沃爾瑪正在從印度向美國進口玩具、電子產品、自行車和藥品等商品。 她補充說，包裝食品、乾穀物和意大利麵也是從印度進口的熱門產品。

印度股市今年已升至歷史新高，被視為最有能力在低成本、大規模製造業方面超越中國的國家。

Albright 表示，其快速成長的勞動力和技術進步對沃爾瑪具有吸引力。 另一方面，中國去年報告了六十年來的人口首次下降。

沃爾瑪於2002 年在班加羅爾開始開展採購業務。現在，該公司在印度擁有超過10 萬名員工，其中包括臨時工，多個辦事處分佈於沃爾瑪全球科技印度組、Flipkart Group、PhonePe 和採購業務組。

沃爾瑪執行長 Doug McMillon 今年5月會見了印度總理莫迪，莫迪稱這次會晤「富有成果」。

5 月14 日，莫迪在X（前身為Twitter）上寫道：「很高興看到印度成為有吸引力的投資目的地」。McMillon 表示，沃爾瑪將「繼續支持該國製造業成長並創造機會」。

沃爾瑪競爭對手亞馬遜本月表示，目標是到 2025 年從印度出口價值 200 億美元的商品。

印度小型足球供應商 Freewill Sports 執行長 Rajesh Kharabanda 在接受採訪時表示，該公司是受惠者之一。

供應鏈專家表示，從中國運輸貨物的成本不斷上升也是導致轉向印度的原因之一。

標準普爾全球市場情報旗下的供應鏈分析集團 Panjiva 的研究分析師 Chris Rogers 表示： “由於與其他製造中心相比，中國大陸勞動力成本不斷上升，採購的競爭力已經下降。”

中國的最低工資因省份而異，有時甚至因城市而異，範圍為每月 1,420 元至 2,690 元（198.52 美元 - 376.08 美元）。 同時，根據央行的估計，印度非熟練和半熟練工人的平均工資約為每月 9,000 印度盧比至 15,000 印度盧比（108.04 美元 - 180.06 美元）。

供應鏈障礙

COVID-19 大流行暴露了全球供應鏈的弱點，顯示美國進口商過度依賴少數的市場。

Albright 說：「為地緣政治事件做準備就像為颶風做準備一樣 」; 「我能控制的是我的產品來自哪裡，以及如果我們的供應鏈發生問題，我如何確保聖誕節仍然會出現」。

Albright 說，巴基斯坦和孟加拉也受益於沃爾瑪的策略，擴大了作為家居和服裝產品供應商的規模。

根據美國進口數據，去年，至少有八批 Freewill 貨物從印度最大的私人港口古吉拉特邦蒙德拉港運往沃爾瑪倉庫。

Freewill 執行長 Rajesh Kharabanda 在接受採訪時表示： “人們對印度製造業以及工廠基礎設施的可用性有了新的信心。”

印度央行預測本財年該國經濟將成長6.5%。 中國今年預計將成長5%左右。

Shekhar Gupta 說: 「在過去 12 到 18 個月裡，肯定產生了更大的影響」，他的家族企業 Devgiri 向沃爾瑪銷售地毯已有大約十年的時間。 「從那時起，沃爾瑪開始製定真正的策略，以實現希望印度成為他們成長的中心。”

              So, Walmart is importing more goods to the United States from India and reducing its reliance on China. China's minimum wage for works is higher than that in India. India’s rapidly growing workforce and technological advancement are attracting buyers such as Walmart and Amazon while China on the other hand reported its first decline in population. It is interesting to note that India’s central bank forecasts that its country's economy will expand by 6.5% this fiscal year while expecting China to grow at around 5%. It seems that the title of “world factory” is shifting from China to India.