• Pakistan’s Local Mobile Manufacturing Soars: 6.07 million phones produced in H1 2023.
• Import Dip: Only 0.53 million mobile phones were imported commercially.
• June 2023 Highlights: 1.19 million locally produced phones vs. 0.12 million imports.

In the first half of 2023 (January–June), Pakistan’s local manufacturing sector demonstrated a robust performance in the mobile phone industry.

With around 6.07 million mobile phones produced domestically, the country showcased its growing self-reliance.

Notably, only 0.53 million mobile phones were imported during the same period, showcasing a preference for locally manufactured devices.

June 2023 further solidified this trend, as local manufacturing plants contributed approximately 1.19 million mobile handsets to the market. In parallel, the country imported a mere 0.12 million mobile phones commercially in June.

Within the 6.07 million mobile phone handsets produced locally, 4.77 million were 2G devices, while 1.3 million were smartphones.

This distribution aligns with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s data, which indicates that smartphones now encompass 56% of the mobile device landscape, while 2G devices make up the remaining 44%.

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Import figures revealed a significant shift in the fiscal year 2022–23, with mobile phone imports plunging by 71.19% to $570.071 million compared to the previous fiscal year.

In June 2023, mobile phone imports surged by 24.03% compared to May 2023, reaching $53.583 million. Year-on-year, mobile phone imports in June 2023 demonstrated an impressive growth of 66.30%.

While the overall telecom imports during FY23 declined by 64.45% to $956.921 million compared to the previous year, June 2023 witnessed an 11.18% increase, amounting to $96.481 million. Furthermore, imports of other apparatus reached $386.850 million in the July–June FY23 period.

Although imports of other apparatus experienced a slight decrease of 21.37% in June 2023 compared to the previous year, they displayed a healthy 13.41% growth compared to May 2023, reaching $42.898 million.

Overall, these numbers underscore Pakistan’s progress towards domestic manufacturing in the mobile phone and telecom sectors, contributing to reduced import dependency and stimulating local economic growth.