Pakistan’s Mobile Imports Jump 31% in First Seven Months of FY26

Pakistan’s mobile phone imports surged to $1.139 billion in the first seven months (July–January) of the current fiscal year 2025-26, up 31.36 percent from $867.685 million in the same period last year, official data revealed.

In terms of Pakistani rupees, the total import value stood at Rs 321.137 billion, up 33.07 percent from Rs 241.330 billion in the corresponding period of 2024-25. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, mobile imports rose 12.60 percent, reaching $179.380 million in January 2026, up from $159.304 million in December 2025. Year-on-year, imports in January increased 33.62 percent from $134.243 million in January 2025.

The data highlights a rebound from the previous fiscal year, when Pakistan’s mobile imports dropped to $1.494 billion in 2024-25, down 21.31 percent from $1.898 billion in 2023-24. In rupee terms, imports fell 22.09 percent to Rs 417.351 billion from Rs 535.690 billion in the prior year. Overall telecom imports during FY25 stood at $2.099 billion, reflecting a decline of 11.30 percent compared to $2.366 billion in FY24.

Local Manufacturing Keeps Pace

While imports grow, domestic mobile manufacturing and assembly remain robust. Local plants manufactured or assembled 30.21 million handsets during calendar year 2025, vastly outpacing the 2.37 million units imported commercially. Of these, 15.64 million were smartphones and 14.57 million were 2G phones.

In December 2025 alone, the local assembly produced 2.61 million units compared to 0.33 million imported devices, indicating a strong domestic supply chain. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), 71 percent of mobile devices in Pakistan are smartphones, while 29 percent are 2G models.

Analysts note that despite rising imports, the local manufacturing sector continues to meet a significant portion of domestic demand, ensuring a balance between imports and homegrown production.

The trends come amid policy discussions on the Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Framework 2026-33, which aims to further boost local production, promote exports, and regulate imported devices through duties and incentives.

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