Mobile Phone Imports Grows in Chaitra Despite ‘No LC’

Mobile Phone Import has grown in the month of Chaitra 2078. The recent data by the Customs Department of Nepal has shown over 7.4 lakh mobiles were imported to Nepal. This is plausible as the government has issued no LC policy on luxury goods including mobile phones for one week to conserve precious dollars.

But despite the government taking a hard instance on imports, mobile phones import has grown. In fact, the import of mobile phones increased multifold in comparison to previous months.

Customs Department’s latest figure shows that till Chaitra in this FY 078/79, Nepal imported 50 lakh 8 hundred and 59 units of mobile handsets. The amount for all those phones cost 34 billion, 97 crores, 97 lakh, and 89 thousand.

Check out: Best Phones Under Rs. 35,000 In Nepal | Latest 2022 Update

Mobile Phone Imports in Chaitra 078/79

Contrary to the expectations, more mobile phones have entered Nepal in the last month of the Nepali calendar year 2078. In Chaitra alone, Nepal imported over 7.4 lakh mobile phones and many of them were presumably expensive ones too.

Going by the figure, the current number is quite staggering. In Falgun, Nepal imported 2 lakh, 54 thousand, and 185 mobile phones. In total, they were worth over NPR 2.60 billion. It was also the first time, the imports of mobile phones had taken a massive fall in years.

Likewise, in Magh, Nepal had imported over 4.41 lakh mobile phones worth NPR 2.75 billion.

Mobile Phone Imports	Units (in lakh)	Worth (in billion)
Magh	4.41	2.75
Falgun	2.54	2.60
Chaitra	7.40	4

But the number completely turned around in Chaitra. In one month alone, more than 7.4 lakh mobile phones entered Nepal. This is triple-fold compared to the imports recorded in Magh.

Also read: iPhone SE 2022 Launched in Nepal with A15 Bionic Chipset

Business back to normal!

Nepal largely imports mobile phones from Asian neighbors such as China Vietnam and India. Ever since the COVID-19, mobile imports have skyrocketed in Nepal but it seemed the trend came to a halt in Falgun.

Besides, the government making a decree on the banks not to open LC for mobile phones could have added to a further decline in imports but the opposite has taken place.

It also reflects perhaps the trend in Nepal’s imports. On one hand, the government is calling for cautions on imports citing declining forex. On the other hand, traders have maintained a high volume of imports with no regard for the country’s finances. Check out: A Look into The telecommunications Industry in 2078

What do you think of Nepal’s relentless import of mobile phones? Will it cause a worry to the government’s plan of conserving foreign currency reserves? Do leave your opinion in the comments below.