In the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $246.472 million, reflecting a decline of 18.93% compared to $304.029 million during the same period of the previous fiscal year 2023-24. Over the full fiscal year 2023-24, mobile phone imports amounted to $1.898 billion, a significant increase from $570.071 million in 2022-23.
In terms of rupees, mobile phone imports during the first quarter of 2024-25 totaled Rs68.612 billion, a drop of 22.86% compared to Rs88.945 billion during the same quarter last year.
On a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis, mobile phone imports surged by 29.32% in September 2024, reaching $102.629 million, up from $79.360 million in August 2024. However, on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, September 2024 imports showed a decline of 17.62% compared to $124.576 million in September 2023.
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Overall telecom imports during July-September 2024 totaled $374.410 million, registering a 6.17% negative growth compared to $399.048 million in the same period of 2023. On a MoM basis, overall telecom imports rose by 28.92% in September 2024, reaching $153.144 million, compared to $118.787 million in August 2024. YoY, telecom imports saw a decline of 3.53% compared to $158.755 million in September 2023.
In terms of local production, 20.44 million mobile handsets were manufactured or assembled in Pakistan during the first eight months of 2024, of which 7.71 million were 2G handsets and 12.73 million were smartphones. 1.49 million handsets were produced locally in August 2024, while only 0.1 million were imported commercially during the same month.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), 62% of mobile devices on the Pakistan network are smartphones, while 38% are 2G handsets.
