Pakistan’s mobile phone manufacturing sector is staring down a mounting threat, not from rival brands but from the steady influx of imported second-hand handsets. In September alone, the country brought in 105,121 used smartphones worth roughly $14.03 million, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The figures paint an unflattering picture for domestic producers. Alongside the used devices, another 23,616 new fully built mobile phones arrived at a value of about $19.40 million. Combined, imports of new and used smartphones hit 128,737 units, carrying a price tag of approximately $33.43 million.
What stands out is the composition: used smartphones accounted for nearly 82 percent of all fully built imported phones, signalling a pronounced tilt in consumer demand toward cheaper, pre-owned devices.
The shift has come at the direct expense of local output. Domestic smartphone production slumped to just 628,030 units in September — well short of its usual monthly pace. Fully built imports alone now equal roughly one-fifth of local production, and when measured against the combined total of locally manufactured and imported smartphones, foreign-made devices represented about 17 percent of the market.
The pressure is less acute in the feature phone segment, where local manufacturers churned out around 1.053 million units in September. Industry insiders attribute the resilience to consumers trading down to lower-priced handsets as household budgets tighten.
Manufacturers, however, find themselves squeezed from every direction: higher taxes on smartphones, shrinking purchasing power, and intensifying competition from imported used devices.
Aamir Allahwala, senior vice president of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association, sounded the alarm over the combination of rising imports and falling production. He warned that factories could be forced to shut down if local manufacturing becomes commercially unviable, placing jobs across the sector at risk.
Industry stakeholders are urging the government to revisit mobile phone taxation and import policies, arguing that heavy reliance on imported devices threatens domestic production and employment while piling further pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
