Local mobile phone manufacturing in Pakistan faced a severe setback in January 2023. Reports indicate that local manufacturing plants produced only 0.87 million mobile phones during the month, compared to the 0.07 million commercially imported during the same period. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data shows that 0.56 million 2G and 0.3 million smart handsets were locally assembled.
Mobile Phone Manufacturing in Pakistan
The production decline of mobile devices in January 2023 compared to January 2022 was significant, as Pakistan assembled almost 1.53 million devices last year. The manufacturing of mobile devices decreased by 43% this year.
Pakistan’s economic condition is in dire straits, with inflation and high costs of essential products severely impacting every sector and company, including mobile phone manufacturers. The country’s consumer price inflation reached 31.5% in February 2023, the highest rate since June 1974.
Furthermore, the consequences of last year’s devastating floods have further increased economic difficulties, and the government is struggling to cope.
The decline in the mobile phone sector is not an isolated incident, as costs have also increased in all other components. The transport sector was affected by 50.5%, housing, and utilities by 13.4%, and culture and recreation by 48%. Every sector in the country is struggling under these circumstances.
Mobile handset manufacturing decreased significantly in January, dropping 61% compared to the 2.24 million handsets manufactured in December 2022.
Despite this, it is worth noting that local manufacturing plants assembled 21.94 million mobiles in 2022, a decline from the 24.66 million produced in 2021. This decline is mainly due to import restrictions.
Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $414.801 million during the 1st seven months of the fiscal year 2022-23, a decrease of 67.35% compared to the $1.270 billion imported during the previous year.
Additionally, data from the Pakistan Statistics Bureau (PSB) indicates that the month-on-month mobile handset imports recorded 28.12% negative growth and were at $51.960 m in January of this year compared to $72.291 million in December 2022.
The mobile device manufacturing policy developed by EDB in 2022, when the nation’s economic situation was steady, sought to encourage local manufacturing of mobile devices in Pakistan. With the government’s “Made in Pakistan” strategy, the goal was to create an appealing environment for investors.
However, the current economic situation has significantly impacted the mobile phone sector, and the decline in manufacturing is likely to continue unless significant changes are made.
