Mobile phones worth $102M imported in first two months of FY23

Import of mobile phones worth $102M reported in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2022-22, representing a 64.38 percent decrease from the previous year’s total of $285.947 million.

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), mobile phone imports increased by 62.51 percent month on month (MoM) in August 2022, reaching $63.060 million from $38.804 million in July 2022.

Other apparatus imports stayed at $67.574 million in July-August 2022, representing a 16.68% decrease from $81.104 million during the same time the previous fiscal year. Registered 8.06 percent negative growth when compared to $41.848 million in August 2021 and 32.24 percent on a month-to-month basis as compared to $29.0097 million in July 2022.

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, local manufacturing firms produced/assembled 14.94 million phone handsets during the first seven months of 2022 (January-July), compared to 1.16 million imported commercially (PTA). In July 2022, local manufacturing plants produced/assembled 0.86 million mobile phone devices.

In the midst of a catastrophic foreign exchange crisis, the government relaxed a restriction on all import of mobile phones and luxury and non-essential commodities last month.

SRO 1562(I)/2022 was issued by the Ministry of Commerce to relax the restriction on luxury and non-essential commodities like as automobiles, mobile phones, and household appliances.