It has been reported by 24NewsHD that multinational companies are closing down their mobile phone assembly units in Pakistan because of the shortage of dollars in the country. According to reports, three major phone manufacturers in Lahore have closed their assembly lines, which has caused concern among mobile phone traders in the city.
According to Sardar Azhar Sultan, President of Lahore Traders Rights, in his interview with 24NewsHD, there are two grave concerns:
The shortage of dollars has made it difficult for mobile phone companies to send capital to the head offices of their subsidiaries abroad because of the lack of dollars. Furthermore, the business community also faces difficulties when it comes to importing accessories for mobile phones. There is a problem with the opening of Letters of Credit (LCs). There are no goods coming in. In what way will the business be run?
The report does not specify which companies are closing down local production in Pakistan to reduce costs. It is important to note that there have been a few notable phone companies in the country, such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, Infinix, and a few others. However, there has been no official confirmation as to which of these brands has stopped production.
In what ways does it affect us?
There is only one thing this means for Pakistani customers, and it is bad news for them. A few years ago, the fact that some models of mobile phones were made locally was a major factor in lowering mobile phone prices. However, in the wake of the recent closure of a number of factory assembly lines and the surge in import costs that have occurred, smartphone prices have also been skyrocketing as a result.
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It is for example worth mentioning that the Redmi Note 10 Pro has been released in Pakistan at a price of roughly Rs. 45,000 – 50,000. However, its successor, the Redmi Note 11 Pro, currently costs over Rs. 80,000 which is higher than its predecessor. I believe that these principles apply equally to flagship phones from Apple, Samsung, Vivo, and many others as well. It is true that there are ludicrous import taxes involved in all of this, but the real culprit is local production. This is simply because flagships were never produced in this country.
