Mobile phone imports in Pakistan dropped by 16.6 percent during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 to 2027, falling to $417.24 million between July and September. A slight monthly recovery in September could not reverse the broader quarterly decline, and the figures reflect a substantial year on year contraction for the industry. In September 2026, imports reached $143.14 million, which is a 7.1 percent increase from the $133.66 million recorded in August. However, this was still 28.2 percent lower than the $199.27 million recorded in September 2025, so the monthly rise remained well below the level of the same month last year.
In rupee terms, buyers spent Rs. 39.75 billion on mobile phone imports in September, a 7 percent increase over the Rs. 37.17 billion spent in August. The import bill still fell 29.2 percent from Rs. 56.17 billion in September 2025. Cumulative mobile phone imports during July to September of the fiscal year 2026 to 2027 stood at Rs. 116.01 billion, which falls 18 percent short of the Rs. 141.42 billion spent in the same period last year. In dollar terms, the total bill shrank from approximately $500.01 million to $417.24 million, a decline that is slightly smaller in percentage than the fall measured in rupee terms.
The broader telecommunications import bill includes mobile phones and other related apparatus. In September 2026, this total hit Rs. 61.12 billion ($220.08 million), compared with Rs. 54.77 billion ($196.95 million) in August. Despite the monthly jump, telecommunications imports declined 19.5 percent in rupee terms compared with September 2025, and they fell 18.3 percent in dollar terms from last year, when the figure was $269.29 million (Rs. 75.92 billion). For the entire first quarter, total telecommunications imports reached Rs. 181.24 billion ($651.80 million), against Rs. 188.32 billion ($665.83 million) last year, so the overall telecom import bill declined 3.8 percent in rupee terms and 2.1 percent in dollar terms.
Other telecommunications apparatus showed a completely different trend. Importers brought in Rs. 21.37 billion ($76.94 million) worth of other equipment in September, up sharply from Rs. 17.60 billion ($63.29 million) in August, which gave year on year increases of 8.2 percent in rupee terms and 9.9 percent in dollar terms. First quarter imports of this category reached Rs. 65.23 billion ($234.57 million) during July to September, compared with Rs. 46.90 billion ($165.82 million) last year, an increase of 39.1 percent in rupee terms and 41.5 percent in dollar terms. These contrasting trends show that lower mobile phone imports drove the overall decline in telecommunications imports, while imports of other equipment recorded strong growth.
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