Pakistan’s domestic mobile manufacturing industry has witnessed significant growth in the first eight months of 2024, outpacing imports by a wide margin.
Local manufacturing plants produced a total of 20.44 million mobile handsets during this period, compared to 1.1 million imported commercially. In August alone, local production reached 1.49 million units, while imports remained at a mere 0.1 million.
The breakdown of local production includes 7.71 million 2G feature phones and 12.73 million smartphones. This surge in local manufacturing has contributed to a significant increase in the availability of affordable mobile devices in the Pakistani market.
According to the PTA, smartphones now account for 62% of mobile devices in Pakistan, while 2G feature phones make up the remaining 38%.
The country’s imports of mobile phones have also declined, registering a negative growth of 19.82% in the first two months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year. In rupee terms, mobile phone imports decreased from Rs. 51.853 billion to Rs. 40.069 billion during this period.
The growth of Pakistan’s domestic mobile manufacturing industry is a positive development for the country’s economy. It not only creates jobs and boosts local production but also reduces reliance on imports, saving valuable foreign exchange.
