Pakistan recorded a significant decline in mobile phone imports during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year (FY 2024-25), with the total import value standing at $143.889 million.
This marks a 19.82 per cent drop compared to $179.453 million during the same period last year. In rupee terms, imports fell 22.73% to Rs40.069 billion, down from Rs51.853 billion in FY 2023-24, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Month-on-Month Surge in August Imports
While year-on-year imports decreased, there was a 23.14 per cent month-on-month (MoM) increase in August 2024, with imports reaching $79.406 million, up from $64.483 million in July 2024. However, yearly, mobile phone imports dropped 28.68 per cent compared to August 2023.
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Overall telecom imports for July-August 2024 also fell 7.73 per cent to $221.725 million compared to $240.293 million during the same period last year. Despite the annual decline, August 2024 telecom imports surged by 16.36 per cent MoM to $119.247 million.
Local Manufacturing Rises
Meanwhile, local mobile phone manufacturing is on the rise, with Pakistan assembling 18.95 million handsets during the first seven months of 2024. This surge in domestic production is contributing to the reduced import reliance, supporting the local telecom industry’s growth.
