ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Around 10.87 million mobile handsets were locally manufactured or assembled during the first eight months of 2023 against a total of 0.84 million units imported commercially.
For the previous calendar year of 2022, the number stood at 21.94 million which was lower than 2021 when 24.66 million handsets for assembled or manufactured. This decline was a product of several reasons mainly attributed to issues in imports on account of restricting the opening of Letters of Credit (LCs).
Meanwhile, the number of imported handsets in the last calendar year was 1.53 million, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
As far as the current year is concerned, 7.62 million handsets are 2G with the remaining 3.04 million being smartphones. Currently, the PTA says, 56 per cent of mobile devices are smartphones and 44 percent 2G on the Pakistan network.
Mobile phone imports in Pakistan have witnessed a staggering 76 percent surge during the first two months of the current fiscal year, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The PBS data reveals that in August 2023, mobile phone imports reached a substantial $111.34 million, marking a remarkable 77 percent increase compared to the same month in 2022.
Similarly, July 2023 saw mobile phone imports amounting to $68.13 million, reflecting a substantial 76 percent rise compared to July of the previous year.