Industry estimates indicate that from 2014-15 to 2022-23, Indian exports of toys, games, and sports articles surged by 239%, while imports decreased by 52%…reports Asian Lite News
The Indian toy industry has expanded its global presence to more than 100 countries including the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and even China and the next step for the toy manufacturers is to reach international consumers through the effective use of online mediums, a senior official of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said here on Monday.
In line with the objective of providing an impetus to the growing Indian toy sector, DPIIT organised a “Workshop with Flipkart and Indian Toy Industry” on Wednesday in New Delhi, which played a pivotal role in laying the roadmap for enabling further growth of the toy sector, scaling domestic consumption and upskilling/reskilling workforce.
Addressing a joint workshop of Indian toy manufacturers and e-retail giant Flipkart, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Sanjiv said: “The success of the Indian toy industry reflects in the enhanced exports, increasing robustness of the manufacturing ecosystem and reduced import dependence.”
The deliberations laid special focus on how the emerging opportunities from the e-commerce marketplace can be leveraged to bolster the growth of the Indian Toy Industry.
Secretary, (DPIIT), Rajesh Kumar Singh while addressing the participants said: “As part of its strong commitment to create a better ecosystem for the toy industry, the government has identified the sector as one of the champion sectors, with a long-term vision to create a global market for ‘Made in India’ toys. A cohesive approach is being followed by breaking the silos and working with industry in all aspects for enhancing the robustness of the sector.”
The workshop organised in collaboration with Flipkart and the Indian Toy Industry helped the domestic toy manufacturers to understand the nuances of online selling, thereby enabling a step further towards building a “Toyconomy”.
According to industry estimates, Indian exports of Toys, Games, and sports articles between 2014-15 to 2022-23 increased by 239 per cent whereas the imports fell by 52 per cent.
Further, the report presented the current market size of the industry is USD 1.7 billion, and expected to reach USD 4 Billion by 2032 with a 10.5 per cent annual growth rate.
Last month, Indian toy makers, who participated in the five-day international toy fair at Nuremberg in Germany, claim to have received huge orders worth more than $10 million.
According to the toy exporters, buyers from countries such as the US, the UK, South Africa and Germany showed interest in their products and placed a good number of orders at the fair that concluded on February 3. There were more than 55 participants from India this year who showcased their products.
The Indian manufacturers at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair stated that there was a considerable shift in the buyers’ approach and behaviour. India is now being recognised as a lucrative alternative sourcing destination as high-quality products are being rolled out after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Toyeconomy policy.
The Indian toy industry highlighted that the government Initiatives like mandatory quality norms, increase in Customs duty and a National Action Plan on Toys (NAPT) have helped in the manufacture of high-quality products, which have garnered appreciation at the international platform.
The Indian toy sector is growing at a healthy rate and competing with global players. Among the most popular categories at the fair were those pertaining to wooden toys and educational learning toys.
The Indian toy makers also said that the prestigious platform opened the doors for international joint ventures with the Indian manufacturing ecosystem gaining global acceptance.
The interest of global players in partnering with the Indian industry has provided an impetus to the domestic manufacturers to enhance their manufacturing capacity for catering both to the growing international and national market.
The emerging international recognition of ‘Make in India’ toys is expected to contribute to the increase in exports.
A substantial decrease of 52 per cent in overall import of toys from $332.55 million in FY 2014-15 to $158.7 million in FY 2022-23 and increase of 239 per centin the export of toys from $96.17 million in FY 2014-15 to $325.72 million in FY 2022-23 has already been recorded, the ministry said.
While the domestic manufacturers have already experienced success in Germany, tie-ups with internationally acclaimed big players, including Snapdeal and Walmart, are in the pipeline.
The Nuremberg International Toy Fair concluded on February 3. Over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 65 countries participated this year in one of the world’s largest toy fairs.
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