ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has imported mobile phones worth $1.31 billion during first eight months of the current fiscal year owing to rise in demand of such devices for digital financial system.
According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday the import of mobile phones worth $1.311 billion during July – February 2020/2021 as compared with $865 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The strong value of the dollar during the period forced higher import payment in terms of the Pak Rupee. The import of mobile phones in terms of rupee surged by 58 percent to Rs213 billion during first eight months of the current fiscal year as compared with $134.8 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
Market sources said that coronavirus pandemic had limited the physical movement, which had given rise to online transactions. Mobile phones have played a major role in promoting the digital economy.
Further, the implementation of laws making it mandatory that only verified mobiles through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to be activated for local services has also discouraged informal channels for the import of mobile phones.
They said that the depreciation of the Pak Rupee had also an impact on the surge of mobile phone imports.
