The import of mobile phones increased by 63.62 percent during the first five months of the current financial year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $498.466 million during July-November (2019-20) as compared to $304.651 million during July-November (2018-19), showing a growth of 63.62 percent, according to the data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On a year-on-year basis, the import of mobile phones witnessed a growth of 150.29 percent in November 2019, as compared to last year. The imports during November 2019 were $110.725 million versus $44.238 million in November 2018.
On a month-on-month basis, the import of mobile phones witnessed a decline of 6.68 percent during November 2019, as compared to $118.654 million during October 2019.
Overall, telecom imports saw an increase of 25.07 percent during July-November 2019 as compared to last year. Total imports were recorded at $682.762 million during this period compared to $545.920 million in July-November 2018, registering a 7.96 percent decline in November 2019. Telecom imports stood at $147.650 million in November 2019 as compared to $160.424 million during October 2019.
Other telecom apparatus imports witnessed a decline of over 23.61 percent in July-November 2019 as it stood at $184.296 million against $241.269 million during the same period last year. When compared to October 2019, other telecom apparatus imports registered an 11.60 percent decline at $36.925 million compared to $41.770 million in October 2019.
The country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.04 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to last year. The trade deficit during July-November (2019-20) was recorded at $9.668 billion against a deficit of $14.439 billion during July-November (2018-19).
The exports during the period increased from $9.109 billion during the last year to $9.545 billion during the current fiscal year, showing a growth of 4.79 percent. On the other hand, imports witnessed a decline of 18.41 percent, falling from $23.548 billion last year to $19.213 billion during the current fiscal year.
