According to 24NewsHD, multinational companies are shutting down their mobile phone assembly units in Pakistan due to a shortage of dollars. Three major phone manufacturers have reportedly closed their assembly units, causing concern among mobile phone traders in Lahore.
Lahore Traders Rights President Sardar Azhar Sultan expressed grave concern while talking to 24NewsHD:
Due to the shortage of dollars, mobile phone companies are facing difficulties in sending capital to their head offices abroad. The business community also faces difficulties in importing mobile phone accessories. The Letters of Credit (LCs) are not being opened. Goods are not coming. How will the businesses run?
The report does not mention precisely which companies are shutting down local production in Pakistan. Major phone makers in the country include Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Infinix, and a few others, but there is no official word on which of these brands have halted production.
This only translates to bad news for Pakistani customers. Local smartphone assembly was a major reason mobile phone prices were affordable a few years ago for some models. But with the recent closure of assembly plants and import prices surging higher than ever before, smartphone prices have also been skyrocketing as a result.
For instance, the Redmi Note 10 Pro launched for around Rs. 45,000 – 50,000 in Pakistan. But its successor, the Redmi Note 11 Pro currently costs more than Rs. 80,000. The same goes for flagship phones from Apple, Samsung, Vivo, and others. But this has more to do with ludicrous import taxes and not local production since flagships were rarely produced here in the first place.
