ISLAMABAD: Local manufacturing plants have manufactured/assembled 10.87 million mobile handsets during the first eight months (January-August) of 2023 compared to 0.84 million imported commercially.

Local manufacturing plants manufactured/assembled 21.94 million mobile handsets during the calendar year 2022 compared to 24.66 million in 2021, i.e. registered a decline, attributable to issues in imports on account of restricting the opening of Letters of Credit (LCs).

Around 21.94 million mobile handsets were assembled during the calendar year 2022, compared to 1.53 million commercially imported phone handsets, said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The locally manufactured/assembled 10.87 million mobile phone handsets included 7.62 million 2G and 3.04 million smartphones.

Besides, as per the PTA data, 56 percent of mobile devices are smartphones, and 44 percent are 2G on the Pakistan network.

Mobile phone imports in Pakistan have witnessed a staggering 76 percent surge during the first two months of the current fiscal year, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The PBS data reveals that in August 2023, mobile phone imports reached a substantial $111.34 million, marking a remarkable 77 percent increase compared to the same month in 2022.

Similarly, July 2023 saw mobile phone imports amounting to $68.13 million, reflecting a substantial 76 percent rise compared to July of the previous year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

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