Pakistan’s mobile phone import bill declined by nearly 9 percent in the first two months of fiscal year 2026-27, with data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showing that the country spent $274.129 million on handset imports during July and August 2026, compared to $300.741 million during the same period a year earlier. The drop of nearly $27 million in dollar terms was even more pronounced in rupee terms, with the import bill declining 10.53 percent to Rs 76.267 billion from Rs 85.245 billion in the corresponding months of fiscal year 2025-26, reflecting both the lower volume of imported devices and the rupee’s marginal strengthening relative to its position during the same period last year.
The month-on-month trajectory within the two-month window tells its own story. August mobile phone imports stood at $133.6 million, representing a 13.8 percent decline from the $155.129 million recorded in August 2025 and a 4.80 percent sequential dip from the $140.434 million imported in July 2026. The consistent softening across both the year-on-year and month-on-month comparisons suggests a structural rather than seasonal shift in handset import demand, one that is likely attributable to a combination of factors including the continued expansion of local mobile assembly under the existing policy framework that keeps duties on completely knocked-down components significantly lower than on finished imported devices, the lingering impact of high smartphone tax burdens on consumer purchasing behaviour, and modest improvement in consumer affordability pressures that had previously driven a surge in demand for locally assembled mid-range alternatives over premium imports.
The picture was markedly different for telecom equipment, where imports moved decisively in the opposite direction. Telecom equipment imports climbed 8.95 percent to $432.044 million during July and August from $395.536 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, an increase of over $36 million that reflects the ongoing capital investment cycle in network expansion and next-generation mobile services. In rupee terms, telecom equipment imports increased 6.95 percent to Rs 120.211 billion from Rs 112.398 billion, with the rise attributed to continued investment in base stations, fibre infrastructure, and the equipment procurement associated with Pakistan’s 5G rollout across 22 cities following the landmark spectrum auction in March 2026. Despite the overall increase during July and August, telecom equipment imports lost momentum in the second month, dropping to $197.269 million in August, down 3.42 percent from $204.263 million a year earlier and 15.98 percent below the $234.775 million recorded in July 2026, suggesting that the heaviest phase of initial 5G deployment procurement may have been concentrated in the first month of the fiscal year.
Taken together, the data presents a picture of Pakistan’s technology import economy in a period of structural adjustment: handset imports contracting as local assembly absorbs more of domestic demand and high tax burdens suppress the premium import market, while network infrastructure spending continues to grow as operators invest in the backbone that will support both the 5G era and the expansion of broadband connectivity that Pakistan’s digital economy ambitions depend upon.
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