The country's overall telecom imports dropped by 2 percent to $1.028 billion during July-Mar 2017, official figures show. Fall in the telecom imports now stands at $1.796 million in July-Mar 2017 from $1.046 billion in July-Mar 2016, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics says. In Mar 2017, telecom import however shot up by over 20 or $24.402 million to $146.188 million from $121.786 million in Mar 2016.

Import of mobile handsets scaled back by 9 percent or $48.837 million to $524.442 million in July-Mar 2017 from $573.279 in July-Mar 2016. Cellular phones import slumped to $65.065 million in Mar 2017 from $76.090 million in Mar 2016, down by 14.49 percent or $11.025 million.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017