Pakistan mobile phone imports recorded a notable increase during the first five months of the current fiscal year FY26, reflecting renewed momentum in handset demand alongside broader telecom activity. According to official data, mobile phone imports surged to $801.139 million during the July to November period, representing growth of more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year. The increase highlights a recovery trend following subdued import activity in the previous fiscal year, driven by changes in consumer demand, exchange rate dynamics, and market conditions within the telecom sector.
Data shows that during July to November FY26, mobile phone imports rose from $570.184 million in the corresponding period of the previous year to $801.139 million. In rupee terms, the value of these imports climbed to Rs. 226.133 billion, compared to Rs. 158.518 billion last year, reflecting a growth of 42.65 percent. On a month on month basis, imports increased by 8.30 percent in November 2025, reaching $156.565 million compared to $144.563 million in October. However, on a year on year basis, imports during November declined by 4.81 percent when compared to $149.378 million recorded in November 2024, indicating some moderation in monthly import volumes.
Despite the recent increase in FY26, mobile phone imports had shown a decline during the previous fiscal year. Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.494 billion in FY25, down 21.31 percent from $1.898 billion in FY24. In rupee terms, imports during FY25 stood at Rs. 417.351 billion, marking a decline of 22.09 percent compared to Rs. 535.690 billion in FY24. The contraction was observed alongside an overall reduction in telecom related imports. Total telecom imports during FY25 were recorded at $2.099 billion, reflecting negative growth of 11.30 percent compared to $2.366 billion in the preceding year.
While import trends fluctuated, local mobile phone manufacturing and assembling continued to demonstrate strong performance throughout 2025. During the first ten months of the calendar year, local manufacturing plants produced or assembled 25.11 million mobile handsets, compared to just 1.7 million units imported commercially during the same period. In October 2025 alone, 2.33 million mobile phones were locally manufactured or assembled, while only 0.2 million handsets were imported. The locally produced devices included 13.2 million smartphones and 11.9 million 2G phones. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority data, approximately 70 percent of mobile devices currently active on the network are smartphones, while the remaining 30 percent are 2G phones, underlining the growing dominance of smart devices alongside continued demand for basic handsets in the local market.
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