Pakistan’s mobile manufacturing industry has reached a major milestone, producing 22.78 million handsets during the first nine months of 2025 — signaling strong local assembly growth and expanding production capacity.
However, despite this impressive performance, the country’s mobile phone imports have surged by 103%, raising questions about evolving consumer preferences, local production limitations, and market balance.
According to official data, the sharp increase in imports suggests that while domestic assembly continues to expand, high-end smartphone demand remains heavily dependent on foreign brands.
A Booming Market with Mixed Signals
The dual trend of rising local production and import dependency reflects the complexity of Pakistan’s fast-growing telecom sector.
Industry insiders believe that while domestic manufacturing meets the demand for budget and mid-range smartphones, consumers continue to prefer imported flagship models from global giants such as Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi, which remain unavailable through local assembly.
The 103% import growth also indicates pent-up demand following import restrictions lifted earlier this year. Dealers and distributors have since rushed to restock inventories, driving up import volumes even as local factories operate at record capacity.
Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
Experts say that to sustain growth, Pakistan must strengthen its component localization, supply chain efficiency, and R&D capacity. The focus should be on increasing the share of high-value smartphone production and ensuring quality parity with global standards.
While government initiatives under the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (MDMP) have successfully attracted investment and created jobs, analysts warn that long-term stability will depend on export potential and technology transfer.
With rising digital adoption, affordable 4G and 5G devices, and local production momentum, Pakistan’s mobile market is evolving rapidly — but the simultaneous surge in imports suggests a market still balancing aspiration with accessibility.
