Mobile phone imports witnessed a 4.58% growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (July-September) 2018-19.
Imports ended up costing $199.223 million to the national exchequer as compared to $190.499 million during the same period last year.
Mobile phone imports in September 2018, which stood at $62.306 million, registered a 1.47 percent growth as compared to $61.406 million imports in September 2017.
The number has reduced by 7.93 percent last month when compared to $67.67 million in August 2018. These figures were revealed in the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Overall, telecom imports saw a decline of 1.48 percent during July-September 2018 when compared to the same period of last year. Total imports were recorded at $328.568 million during this period when compared to $333.501 million in July-September 2017, while registering a 1.16 percent growth in September 2018. This figure stood at $112.837 million in September as compared to $111.544 million during August 2018.
Other telecom apparatus imports witnessed a decline of over 9.55 percent in July-September 2018 and stood at $129.345 million against $143.002 million during the same period last year. When compared to August 2018, other telecom apparatus imports registered a 15.18 percent growth coming in at $50.53 million compared to $43.87 million in August 2018.
Considering this, and the fact that we have such fantastic relations with China, we should negotiate to manufacture mobile sets in Pakistan. From Apple to Xiaomi to ZTE — almost all sets now-a-days (except Samsung and a few others) are made in China — if the Telecommunication Ministry liaises with Asad Umer to have the top three companies start manufacturing in Pakistan, this will save foreign exchange, create jobs, and also bring technology to our country as well as investment.
Considering this, and the fact that we have such fantastic relations with China, we should negotiate to manufacture mobile sets in Pakistan. From Apple to Xiaomi to ZTE — almost all sets now-a-days (except Samsung and a few others) are made in China — if the Telecommunication Ministry liaises with Asad Umer to have the top three companies start manufacturing in Pakistan, this will save foreign exchange, create jobs, and also bring technology to our country as well as investment.