Pakistan’s mobile phone imports showed a robust increase of 156.43%, valued at $1.148 billion during the first eight months (July-Feb) of the FY2023-24 as compared to $447.854 million recorded in the same period of the previous year.
However, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) indicates a monthly decrease, with imports falling 17.46% to $160.899 million in February 2024, down from $194.928 million in January 2024.
Year-on-year figures for February show an impressive growth of 386.78%, with imports rising from $33.054 million in February 2023 to $160.899 million in February 2024.
The overall telecom sector also experienced growth, with imports totaling $1.434 billion between July and February 2023-24, up 102.44% from $708.796 million in the same period the previous year.
February 2024 alone saw a 195.81% year-on-year increase in telecom imports, reaching $191.504 million compared to $64.740 million in February 2023.
Despite this growth, the month-on-month figures for February 2024 show a 17.71% decline in telecom imports from $232.709 million in January 2024.
In the realm of local production, January 2024 saw 2.27 million mobile handsets manufactured/assembled in Pakistan, a notable increase from 0.24 million units imported for commercial purposes.
The production included 0.72 million 2G handsets and 1.55 million smartphones.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the market consists of 60% smartphones and 40% 2G phones.
The local manufacturing sector experienced a 4% decrease in 2023, impacted by import restrictions and challenges in opening Letters of Credit for mobile phone accessories.
