Pakistan's Mobile Phone Imports Fell By 66% In First Half Of 2022–2023

Pakistan’s mobile phone imports fell by 66% in the first half of the current fiscal year 2022–2023 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year according to official figures.

Pakistan's Mobile Phone Imports Fell By 66% In First Half Of 2022–2023

Pakistan’s mobile phone imports fell by 66% in the first half of the current fiscal year 2022–2023 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year according to official figures.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), mobile phone imports into the country were $362.86 million in July–December of the current fiscal year, compared to $1,090.64 million in the same months of fiscal year 2021–22, representing a 66.73 percent decrease.

Meanwhile, the Bureau reported that mobile phone imports fell by 69.1 percent year on year in December 2022 when compared to the same month the previous year.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is responsible for collecting, compiling, analyzing, and disseminating a wide range of statistical information for the country.

However, on a month-to-month basis, the imports of mobile phones witnessed an increase of 12.04 percent during December 2022, as compared to the imports of $64.52 million during November 2022, according to the PBS data.

The major players in the Pakistani mobile phone industry include Telenor, Jazz, Zong, and Ufone. However since 2021, these market players are facing a lot of competition from Chinese companies like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Infinix.

These companies offer affordable smartphones with good specifications and have become a popular choice among Pakistani consumers.

Pakistan’s phone imports falling can have a negative impact on the economy. Decrease in mobile phone imports may lead to a loss of revenue for the government through lower import tariffs. If imports fall too much it can lead to job losses in the mobile phone import industry and related sectors such as transportation and logistics.

With fewer imported mobile phones available, consumers may have a more limited selection of products to choose from, which can lead to reduced consumer satisfaction. A fall in imports will decrease the foreign exchange earnings as well.