Pakistan is developing a new mobile device manufacturing policy aimed at increasing domestic value addition to 50 per cent, reducing reliance on imported components and promoting higher-value industrial production.
The Ministry of Industries and Production is formulating the policy to build on the previous Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020–2023. Domestic value addition currently stands at an estimated 10–20 per cent, with the proposed framework focusing on local component production, technology transfer and supply chain development.
Local mobile phone plants produced 20.08 million handsets during January–September 2026, compared with 2.85 million units commercially imported. Production included around eight million smartphones and 12 million 2G phones.
Meanwhile, the mobile phone import bill declined 16.6 per cent year-on-year to $417.24 million during the first quarter of FY2026–27. In rupee terms, imports fell 18 per cent to Rs116.01 billion from Rs141.42 billion a year earlier.
VGO TEL led local handset production with 2.50 million units during the first nine months of 2026, followed by Infinix at 1.96 million and Itel at 1.59 million.
The government aims to strengthen the domestic manufacturing ecosystem, although the policy’s success will depend on competitive local suppliers, investment in component production and stable access to imported parts.
