ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s local smartphone manufacturing industry is facing growing pressure after a sharp rise in imports of fully built mobile phones, particularly used devices, The News reported Wednesday, citing Pakistan Telecommunication Authority data.
Pakistan imported 105,121 used smartphones in September, worth around $14.03 million.
During the same month, the country imported another 23,616 new fully built mobile phones worth approximately $19.40 million.
Combined imports of new and used fully built smartphones reached 128,737 units in September, with a total value of around $33.43 million.
Used Phones Dominate Imports
Used smartphones accounted for nearly 82% of all fully built imported phones during the month.
The figures show a growing shift towards imported second-hand devices.
At the same time, local smartphone production fell to 628,030 units in September.
Industry representatives said monthly local smartphone production had previously remained between 1.1 million and 1.2 million units.
The latest figures therefore indicate a significant decline in domestic production.
Fully built imported smartphones were equal to around 20.5% of locally manufactured smartphone volumes in September.
When local production and fully built imports are combined, imported smartphones accounted for around 17% of the total volume.
Feature Phone Production Remains Stable
Local feature-phone production remained relatively stable in September.
Around 1.053 million feature phones were manufactured during the month.
The figure suggests that demand for lower-priced handsets remains strong as consumers face increasing financial pressure.
Higher Taxes, Imports Pressure Local Industry
Industry sources said higher smartphone taxes, weaker consumer purchasing power and rising imports of used phones were putting local manufacturers under increasing pressure.
Aamir Allahwala, Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association, also raised concerns over the trend.
He said imports of fully built and used mobile phones were increasing while local production was declining.
Allahwala warned that local manufacturing units could become commercially unviable if the trend continued.
He said factory closures could put a large number of workers in the mobile phone manufacturing sector at risk of losing their jobs.
Industry Seeks Government Action
Industry stakeholders said the rising dependence on fully built imported phones was hurting domestic manufacturing and employment.
They also warned that increased imports were putting additional pressure on Pakistan’s foreign exchange resources.
The stakeholders urged the government to review the taxation and import framework for mobile phones.
They called for measures to protect local manufacturing, preserve jobs and reduce the country’s dependence on imported devices.
