Mobile phones: Jul-Jan imports soar 11.86pc to $1.27bn YoY

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.270 billion during the first seven months (July-January) of 2021-22 compared to $1.135 billion during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 11.86 percent, despite the increase in local manufacturing, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The overall telecom imports into the country during the period under review (July-January) 2021-22 increased by 19.53 percent by going up from $1.382 billion in July-January 2020-21 to $1.652 billion in July-January 2021-22.

On a month-on-month basis, imports of mobile phones into Pakistan decreased by 23.15 percent during January 2022 and remained $179.768 million when compared to $233.917 million imported in December 2021, the PBS data revealed.

On a year-on-year basis, mobile phones witnessed a decrease of 8.68 percent, when compared to $196.853 million in January 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the overall telecom imports into the country decreased by 21.83 percent during January 2022 and remained $229.190 million, when compared to the imports of $293.193 million in December 2021.

Mobile phones: Local manufacturing, assembling witness 88pc rise YoY

On a year-on-year basis, overall telecom imports witnessed a 21.83 percent decline, when compared to $227.083 million in January 2021.

Other apparatus imports during July-January 2021-22 increased by 54.77 percent and remained $382.079 million compared to $244.868 million in July-January 2020-21.

Other apparatus imports registered 16.62 percent negative growth on a month-on-month basis and remained $49.422 million in January 2022 compared to $59.276 million in December 2021 and registered 63.49 percent growth when compared to $30.230 million in January 2021.

The manufactured/assembled mobile phones handsets by local manufacturing plants during the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020, i.e. 88 percent increase.

The commercial imports of mobile phones handsets stood at 10.26 million in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in 2020, revealed the official data of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The number of local manufactured/assembled mobile handsets increased by 2.54 million in December 2021 and the total production reached 24.66 million in the calendar year. The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has more than doubled against the import of commercial mobile phones in the country during 2021.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022