In the first half of 2023 (January–June), local manufacturing units in Pakistan produced around 6.07 million mobile phones. However, the country imported only 0.53 million mobile phones commercially. In June 2023, local manufacturing plants in Pakistan produced approximately 1.19 million mobile handsets. Similarly, they only imported 0.12 million mobile phones commercially in June.
Out of the total 6.07 million mobile phone handsets produced locally in Pakistan, 4.77 million were 2G devices, and 1.3 million were smartphones. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), smartphones account for 56% of mobile devices, while 2G devices make up the remaining 44% of the country’s network.
During the fiscal year 2022–23 (FY23), Pakistan imported $570.071 million mobile phones. This shows a significant decline of 71.19% compared to the previous fiscal year 2021–22 when imports stood at $1.978 billion.
In June 2023, Pakistan experienced a 24.03% monthly increase in mobile phone imports, reaching $53.583 million. This figure is higher compared to the $43.201 million of mobile phone imports recorded in May 2023.
Mobile phone imports in June 2023 witnessed a significant 66.30% year-on-year (YoY) growth compared to the $32.220 million in June 2022.
Telecom imports in Pakistan totalled $956.921 million during the fiscal year 2022–23 (FY23). It shows a negative growth of 64.45% compared to the $2.684 billion recorded in the same period of 2021–22.
Compared to June 2022, overall telecom imports in June 2023 grew by 11.18%, reaching $96.481 million compared to $86.777 million. Additionally, on a month-on-month basis, telecom imports increased by 19.07% in June 2023 compared to $81.028 million in May 2023. Furthermore, imports of other apparatus reached $386.850 million in the July-June FY23 period.
In June 2023, imports of other apparatus amounted to $42.898 million, showing a 21.37% decrease compared to June 2022, when they were $54.557 million. On a month-on-month basis, it experienced 13.41% growth compared to May 2023, when it was $37.827 million.