In contrast to the 0.76 million commercially imported mobile phones, 13.08 million mobile handsets were manufactured and assembled locally in the first five months of 2024 (January through May).
Official data indicates that in May, 2.23 million mobile devices were made or assembled in the country, while 0.11 million were brought in for sale.
8.1 million smartphones and 4.98 million 2G phones were among the 13.08 million mobile phones made or assembled in the country.
Furthermore, according to PTA data, 39% of mobile devices on the Pakistan network are 2G, and 61% of mobile devices are smartphones.
There was a four percent decline in mobile phone assembly and production locally in 2023. This decrease was brought about by limitations on the issuance of letters of credit (LCs) for accessories for mobile phones, which created issues with imports. However, official data indicated that despite restrictions, commercial imports of mobile devices increased during this period.
Read more: Pakistan’s mobile phone imports increase by 200% to $1.462 billion in 10 months
Twenty-one million mobile phones were produced and assembled in local factories in 2023; this is a decrease from twenty-one million in 2022 and twenty-six million in 2021. But in 2023, there were 1.58 million commercial imports as opposed to 1.53 million in 2022. Eighty-eight million smartphones and thirteen million 2G phones were among the twenty-one million mobile phones that were produced and assembled locally.
The first 11 months of the current fiscal year 2023-24 saw the nation import mobile phones worth $1.621 billion, up 213.97 percent from $516.488 million during the same period last year. This period runs from July to May.
In terms of rupees, during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year 2023-24, the nation imported mobile phones worth Rs458.472 billion, a 277.37 percent increase over the same time the previous year when totalizing Rs121.491 billion.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the nation’s imports of mobile phones decreased 1.58 percent month over month (MoM) in May 2024, amounting to $158.842 million, from $161.384 million in April 2024.
In May 2024, imports of mobile phones increased by 267.68 percent year over year (YoY) to $43.201 million from the same month the previous year.
In comparison to $860.281 million during the same period of the previous fiscal year, the total amount of telecom imports into the nation during the July-May 2023-24 period was $2.047 billion, representing a 128.04% increase.
With a YoY increase of 163.19 percent, the total telecom imports increased to $212.980 million in May 2024 from $80.922 million in May 2023. When compared to April 2024, when telecom imports were $211.589 million, the entire telecom imports increased by 0.66 percent in May 2024.