Web Desk — Pakistan imported mobile phones worth Rs. 32.7 billion in August 2023, according to the latest Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.
The PBS data shows imports in August 2023 were 71 percent higher than imports of Rs. 19.1 billion registered in July 2023. The massive increase in imports is seriously alarming for the balance of payments as they went up by 135 percent compared to imports of Rs. 13.9 billion in August 2022.
Talking in terms of dollars, there were imports worth $111.34 million in August 2023, up by 63 percent compared to July 2023 and 76 percent compared to August 2022.
The imports during the first two months of the current fiscal year i.e. July and August stood at Rs. 51.85 billion, which is an increase of 131 percent compared to imports of Rs. 22.44 billion registered in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The imports in July-August 2023, in terms of dollars, stood at $179.47 million. This is an increase of 76 percent compared to imports of $101.86 million registered in the same period of the previous fiscal year.