Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $570.167 million during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year 2024-25, marking a 7.52 percent decline compared to $616.518 million during the same period of the previous fiscal year 2023-24.
In rupee terms, mobile phone imports during this period stood at Rs. 158.514 billion, reflecting a 10.60 percent decrease compared to Rs. 177.311 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The data, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), highlights a continued downward trend in mobile phone imports.
On a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis, mobile phone imports fell by 14.32 percent in November 2024, amounting to $149.375 million compared to $174.332 million in October 2024. However, on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, mobile phone imports grew slightly by 1.93 percent compared to $146.549 million in November 2023.
For the full fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.898 billion, a significant increase compared to $570.071 million during the fiscal year 2022-23.
Telecom Imports Show Mixed Trends
The overall telecom imports into Pakistan during July-November 2024 stood at $794.363 million, registering a marginal decline of less than one percent compared to $794.377 million during the same period in 2023.
Pakistan’s local mobile phone manufacturing and assembly industry continues to grow, with 22.59 million mobile handsets manufactured or assembled locally during the first nine months (January-September) of 2024. In comparison, only 1.17 million mobile phones were imported commercially during the same period.
In September 2024 alone, 2.15 million mobile handsets were manufactured or assembled locally, while only 0.07 million were imported commercially. Of the 22.59 million locally produced handsets, 8.73 million were 2G devices, and 13.86 million were smartphones.
According to data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), 64 percent of mobile devices on Pakistan’s network are smartphones, while 36 percent are 2G devices.
