During the first half (July-December) of the fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistan witnessed a substantial surge in mobile phone imports, reaching $792.612 million. This marks a remarkable increase of 118.45 percent compared to the same period in the previous year when imports stood at $362.841 million.
Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reveals a 20.16 percent Month-on-Month (MoM) growth in mobile phone imports for December 2023. The imports for December totaled $176.093 million, up from $146.549 million in November 2023.
On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, mobile phone imports in December 2023 recorded a significant growth of 143.59 percent compared to $72.291 million in December 2022.
The broader telecom sector also experienced robust growth, with overall imports amounting to $1.010 billion during July-December 2023. This indicates a substantial 78.64 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year when imports were at $565.720 million.
In December 2023, the YoY growth in overall telecom imports was 96.43 percent, reaching $216.263 million compared to $110.095 million in December 2022. On a MoM basis, the overall telecom imports increased by 15.29 percent in December 2023, rising from $187.580 million in November 2023.
Amir Allahwala, representing Mobile Manufacturing Industries, noted that the easing of import restrictions has contributed to the opening up of mobile phone parts imports. He mentioned that with the increased capacity utilization of the local industry, which includes 31 mobile manufacturers employing over 40,000 Pakistani workers, the sector is experiencing positive growth.
