Redmi Note 5 Pro will get a price increase in India to ensure 'steady supply'

Xiaomi has announced that it will be increasing the suggested price of the 4GB+64GB Redmi Note 5 Pro, in a bid to ensure “steady supply” of the devices.

The company has opened several manufacturing facilities in India, including a plant devoted to printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) earlier this month. Unfortunately, the PCBA plant will only meet the required increase in production from Q3 2018, forcing the Chinese brand to import more PCBAs, it claimed.

“With the recent changes in tax structure on PCBA imports and the depreciation of the rupee… this has resulted in a significant increase in costs for us,” the company wrote on its website. “To ensure the steady supply of Redmi Note 5 Pro, we are marginally increasing the price of Redmi Note 5 Pro 4GB + 64GB variant by 1,000 rupees to partly cover the above costs.”

This, of course, means the phone will be retailing for 14,999 rupees (~$225) instead of 13,999 rupees (~$210). It’s not a huge price increase, but any price bump will be felt with budget-minded handsets.

The Redmi Note 5 Pro isn’t the only Xiaomi product to receive a price increase, as the 55-inch Mi LED TV 4 will be bumped up by 5,000 rupees (~$75) to 44,999 rupees (~$676). The Chinese brand blames the rupee’s depreciation as well as the change in import tax structure for the TV’s price hike.

Duties and exchange rate fluctuations are unavoidable if you’re a company with global aspirations. However, India’s import duties aren’t anywhere near as bad as duties for Brazil. Nevertheless, it comes at an awkward time, a few days after Xiaomi announced plans to cap its profit margin at five percent. So talk of a profit margin cap means little to the average consumer if they see prices increase, regardless of the reason.

We’ve asked Xiaomi whether the price increase will affect the 6GB+64GB variant, currently pegged at 16,999 rupees (~$255). We’ll update the article when/if we get a response.