Pakistan’s Mobile Phone Imports See a 5.3% Decline in July 2024: PBS
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has released data for the first month of the fiscal year 2024-25, revealing a notable decrease in mobile phone imports. In July 2024, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $64.504 million, marking a 5.3% decline compared to $68.113 million in July of the previous fiscal year (2023-24). In local currency terms, this translates to imports worth Rs17.957 billion in July 2024, down by 6.18% from Rs19.140 billion during the same month in 2023.
Sharp Month-on-Month Decline
The data also highlights a significant month-on-month (MoM) decline in mobile phone imports, which plunged by 76.84% in July 2024. Imports dropped to $64.504 million from a substantial $278.574 million in June 2024, signaling a sharp contraction in the market.
Telecom Imports Show Growth Despite Decline in Mobile Phones
Interestingly, despite the drop in mobile phone imports, the overall telecom imports in Pakistan saw a 13.25% growth in July 2024. The total value of telecom imports stood at $102.587 million, up from $90.588 million in July 2023, indicating a diverse and growing telecom sector.
Local Manufacturing on the Rise
PBS data further underscores the shift towards local manufacturing in the mobile phone industry. In June 2024, Pakistan’s local manufacturing plants assembled 4.26 million mobile handsets, compared to a mere 0.08 million units imported during the same period. Over the first six months of 2024, these plants produced a total of 17.34 million mobile phones, dwarfing the 0.84 million units imported into the country.
Diverse Range of Locally Manufactured Devices
The locally assembled 17.34 million mobile phones in 2024 comprised 6.19 million 2G handsets and 11.15 million 3G/4G smartphones. According to data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), 61% of mobile devices in the country are now smartphones, while the remaining 39% are 2G devices, reflecting a growing trend towards more advanced mobile technology.
