Mobile phone imports jump up 94 percent in July – September

Mobile phone imports jump up 94 percent in July – September

KARACHI: The import of mobile phone sharply increased by 94 percent to Rs82 billion during first quarter (July – September) 2020/2021, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Saturday.

The country imported mobile phones worth Rs42 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.

The significant increase in import of mobile phones can be attributed to rising digital services in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Industry sources said that demand of mobile phones grew significantly during the lockdown for various purposes including financial services.

The growth can also be attributed to rupee depreciation during the two periods of comparison.

The import of mobile phones in dollar terms increase by 83 percent to $493 million during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $269 million in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.

The import of mobile phone in terms of US dollar also registered 87.37 percent increase to $306.38 million during first two months of current fiscal year as compared with $163.52 million in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

The country imported mobile phones worth Rs31 billion in the month of September 2020 as compared with Rs16 billion in the same month of the last year, showing an increase of 88 percent.