KARACHI: The country’s cellphone imports swelled by 51.5 per cent to $1.311 billion in 8MFY21 as compared to $865m in the same period last year, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

An official in a cellphone company said that the mobile phone market is now upbeat with burgeoning demand in the price range of Rs10,000-40,000 in which many companies are competing with one another.

He said the main buying is coming in the Rs10,000-25,000 range smartphones since online education has gained momentum followed by massive demand for food items through online facilities in the last one year.

The official said Korean and Chinese manufacturers have been presenting one to two new cellphones every one to two months in the range of Rs15,000-25,000 with 2/3 GB RAM and 32/64 GB storage options which has provided a big relief to people who cannot afford costly cellphones with prices starting from Rs50,000.

A cellphone maker in Karachi, who asked not to be named, said sales of 2G phones are still thriving as many people cannot afford over Rs10,000 cellphones. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority website, the number of cellphone subscribers soared to 178 million in January from 168m in July 2020.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2021