Indian SMEs Look to China for Quality Sourcing Needs
Source: The Financial Express
Sannjoy K Jain has been sourcing products for his healthcare firm from China for seven years now. His firm, X’cel Healthcare Products, deals in adult diapers and other healthcare products and gets supplies from Fujian, a province in the southeast coast of China that has over 200 manufacturers for the product.
However, not once has he faced issues regarding quality, something that is most often discussed in India when talking about Chinese products.
“They have always manufactured as per my specifications. They produce what you ask for at the desired rate,” Jain, CEO of the Indore-based company, said. However, it is not just the quality which has kept him glued to his Chinese suppliers. “The Chinese government provides tax rebates of 10-18 per cent on the product, something which we don’t have in India for my segment. There are no skilled technicians in India for manufacturing, leaving me with no other option but to source it from China which not only has a skilled workforce, but also a huge cost advantage,” he said.
Jain’s is not the only small and medium enterprise (SME) which has been running its show in India on products sourced from China.
Lovleen Bhargava, founder of Delhi-based Advance Technology, said that he has been sourcing from China for the last 15 years due to good quality and cost advantage. In fact, prices have gone down due to economies of scale and efficiency. “SMEs are forced to look abroad for their needs because India does not have defined policies for such SMEs,” Bhargava said.
The recently-organised China Sourcing Fair, which saw over 300 suppliers from China, Taiwan and South Korea dealing in electronic products, home items, industrial and building material and mobile accessories, witnessed over 20,000 buyers from north India, mostly SMEs.
Hong Kong-based Global Source, the business-to-business media company facilitating trade with Greater China, which organised the sourcing fair, said that SMEs in India source healthcare products, electronic components, machinery and industry supplies, baby and children’s products, auto parts and fashion accessories from China.
