Stockholm, Jun 11 (PTI) Global home decor and furniture retailer IKEA has ambitions to increase sourcing from India to 50 per cent, Swedish trade minister Benjamin Dousa said on Wednesday.

IKEA's sourcing basket includes textiles, plastics, and metals, among others, and the company plans to add more items.

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Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa said that India is aiming to increase the share of manufacturing in the country's GDP and Sweden is a partner in this endeavour.

"One example is IKEA that has communicated to their ambition to amplify sourcing locally from India to 50 per cent for its global operations from the current 30 per cent," he said here while addressing businesses of India and Sweden.

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Presently, Europe is IKEA's biggest supplier, followed by America and Asia, in which China leads.

IKEA has been sourcing from India for the last five decades, though it started its retail operation in India in 2018 by opening its first store in Hyderabad, followed by Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru and several others such as Delhi NCR, are in the execution pipeline.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)