In July 2023, Pakistan witnessed a remarkable upsurge in mobile phone imports, reaching an impressive Rs. 19 billion, as revealed by data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This figure exhibited a substantial 24 percent increase compared to the previous month, where imports stood at Rs. 15.356 billion in June 2023. The surge was even more notable when juxtaposed with the same month in the prior fiscal year (FY24), registering a striking growth of almost 125 percent from the imports totaling Rs. 6.542 billion in July 2022.

Converted to dollar terms, the mobile phone imports for July 2023 were valued at $68.135 million, marking a 27 percent rise from the imports in June 2023 and an impressive 75 percent increase from July 2022.

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It’s pertinent to note that the preceding year had seen the implementation of rigorous import restrictions, aimed at controlling the outflow of dollars, which significantly curtailed imports. These measures resulted in Pakistan narrowing its trade deficit by a notable 43.03 percent to $27.547 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), in comparison to the $48.354 billion recorded during the corresponding period the prior year. The volume of imports also experienced a substantial reduction of 31 percent during this timeframe, declining from $80.136 billion in FY22 to $55.291 billion in FY23.

However, with the central bank’s recent decision to lift the import restrictions towards the end of June, imports have once again begun to surge, illustrating the potential impact of policy shifts on the nation’s trade dynamics.