Islamabad, Dec 23: Pakistan’s mobile phone imports amounted to $570.167 million during the first five months of the fiscal year 2024-25, marking a 7.52% decline compared to $616.518 million during the same period of 2023-24. In rupee terms, imports totaled Rs. 158.514 billion, reflecting a 10.6% drop from Rs. 177.311 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.For the fiscal year 2023-24, total mobile phone imports reached $1.898 billion, a significant increase compared to $570.071 million in the fiscal year 2022-23.
Monthly Import Trends
Mobile phone imports decreased 14.32% on a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis in November 2024, amounting to $149.375 million compared to $74.332 million in October 2024. However, Year-on-Year (YoY), mobile phone imports experienced a modest growth of 1.93% compared to $146.549 million in November 2023.
Telecom Sector Insights
The country’s overall telecom imports for July-November 2024 stood at $794.363 million, reflecting less than a 1% decrease compared to $794.377 million in the same period of the previous year. On a MoM basis, telecom imports fell by 21.41% in November 2024, totaling $184.907 million compared to $235.287 million in October 2024. YoY, telecom imports declined by 1.41% from $187.544 million in November 2023.
Local Manufacturing Gains
The local mobile manufacturing and assembly industry has made significant strides. During the first nine months of 2024 (January-September), 22.59 million mobile handsets were locally manufactured or assembled, dwarfing the 1.17 million units imported commercially. In September alone, 2.15 million handsets were locally manufactured compared to just 0.07 million units imported.
Of the 22.59 million handsets produced locally, 8.73 million were 2G devices, while 13.86 million were smartphones. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data, 64% of mobile devices in Pakistan are smartphones, while 36% remain 2G devices.
Implications
The decline in mobile phone imports reflects efforts to curb the country’s reliance on imports and bolster local manufacturing. The rapid growth in local production highlights the success of government policies and industry initiatives aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing, creating jobs, and reducing foreign exchange outflows.
