NEW DELHI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Amazon Inc plans

to export about $5 billion of small-ticket items from India this

year, up from nearly $3 billion in 2023, supplying markets such

as the United States and Britain, a company official said,

marking a shift away from China.

The move by one of the world's largest e-commerce companies

underscores India's growing role in the global supply chain and

reflects a broader trend among multinational corporations to

diversify sourcing away from China.

Walmart Inc ( WMT ) plans to hike its supplies from India to

$10 billion a year by 2027, up from about $3 billion in 2020.

"India is naturally one of the largest sources of selection

for Amazon ( AMZN )," Bhupen Wakankar, director of global trade at

Amazon ( AMZN ), told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

He said Amazon ( AMZN ) had partnered with the India's commerce

ministry and trade associations to connect with thousands of

small manufacturers across the country, offering products from

textiles and jewellery to household items and Ayurveda products.

Such items are usually easy to post directly to

customers abroad and less affected by import taxes than costlier

products.

"We are investing significantly in tools and technologies to

help sellers optimise their reach, enhance product discovery,

and increase sales," he said, ahead of an exporters' meeting in

New Delhi.

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Walmart's ( WMT ) Flipkart have reshaped India's retail

landscape in recent years, investing billions of dollars to

source supplies from small businesses and attracting consumers

through hefty discounts.

But they face criticism from trading and political groups.

India's commerce minister has accused Amazon ( AMZN ) and other

e-commerce companies of predatory pricing practices and said the

sector's rapid rise should not disrupt millions of

brick-and-mortar stores operating in the country.

Last June, Amazon ( AMZN ) announced plans to increase its

investments in India to $26 billion by 2030, including funds for

its cloud business.

Through the Global Selling Programme, initiated in 2015,

Amazon ( AMZN ) has enabled about 150,000 small Indian exporters to sell

roughly $8 billion worth of products directly to overseas

consumers by the end of 2023, Wakankar said.

The company aims to facilitate $20 billion in cumulative

e-commerce exports from India by 2025, he added.