During the first half of 2023 (January-June), local manufacturing plants in Pakistan showcased an impressive performance by producing 6.07 million mobile handsets. This figure far surpassed the 0.53 million handsets that were imported commercially during the same period.
The month of June 2023 saw local manufacturing plants assembling 1.19 million mobile handsets, whereas only 0.12 million handsets were imported commercially.
Among the locally manufactured handsets, 4.77 million were 2G phones, and 1.3 million were smartphones, according to data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Interestingly, smartphones accounted for 56 percent of all mobile devices on the Pakistan network, while 2G devices made up the remaining 44 percent.
In contrast, Pakistan’s mobile phone imports experienced a significant decline during the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), totaling $570.071 million. This represented a staggering 71.19 percent drop compared to the previous fiscal year, where imports reached $1.978 billion.
However, there was a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 24.03 percent in mobile phone imports in June 2023, amounting to $53.583 million compared to $43.201 million in May 2023, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Moreover, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, mobile phone imports in June 2023 surged by 66.30 percent compared to the same month in 2022, which recorded imports worth $32.220 million.
The overall telecom imports for FY23 reached $956.921 million, indicating a significant 64.45 percent decrease compared to the previous year’s total of $2.684 billion.
When considering YoY growth in June 2023, the overall telecom imports marked an 11.18 percent increase, amounting to $96.481 million. This figure was also 19.07 percent higher on a MoM basis compared to the imports worth $81.028 million in May 2023.
While the overall telecom imports experienced a negative growth trend, other apparatus imports followed a similar path. For July-June FY23, these imports amounted to $386.850 million, showing a 45.16 percent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year, where imports were valued at $705.353 million.
In June 2023, other apparatus imports accounted for $42.898 million, reflecting a 21.37 percent YoY decrease compared to $54.557 million in June 2022. Nevertheless, there was a positive 13.41 percent growth on a MoM basis, as imports rose from $37.827 million in May 2023.
The rise of local manufacturing in Pakistan’s mobile phone industry is undoubtedly shaping the dynamics of the market, overshadowing the previously dominant trend of import-based supply. With a growing emphasis on local production, the country’s mobile phone sector is undergoing a significant transformation.
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