Pakistan’s mobile phone manufacturing sector is facing a growing challenge from imported handsets, with used smartphones making up the bulk of fully built phones brought into the country in September, while domestic smartphone production dropped well below its usual monthly level.
Pakistan imported 105,121 used smartphones in September, valued at approximately $14.03 million, according to data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). During the same month, another 23,616 new fully built mobile phones were imported at a value of around $19.40 million.
Taken together, imports of new and used fully built smartphones reached 128,737 units during the month, with a combined value of approximately $33.43 million.
Used smartphones accounted for nearly 82 percent of the total fully built imported phones, underscoring a significant shift in demand toward imported second-hand devices. In contrast, local smartphone production fell to just 628,030 units in September.
The volume of fully built smartphone imports was equivalent to around one-fifth of domestic smartphone output. Across locally manufactured and imported fully built smartphones combined, imported devices represented roughly 17 percent of the total volume.
The trend has been less pronounced in the feature phone segment. Local manufacturers produced around 1.053 million feature phones in September, with industry figures indicating that demand for lower-priced handsets has remained comparatively steady as consumers face financial constraints.
Manufacturers are under pressure from several directions, including higher smartphone taxes, reduced consumer purchasing power and increased competition from used imported devices.
Aamir Allahwala, senior vice president of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association, has raised concerns about the combination of rising imports and falling domestic production.
Allahwala warned that factories could be forced to close if local manufacturing becomes commercially unsustainable, putting jobs across the sector at risk.
Industry stakeholders are calling on the government to reconsider mobile phone taxation and import policies, arguing that greater reliance on imported devices threatens domestic production and employment while placing additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange resources.
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