KATHMANDU, Jan 21: If the cost of an average smartphone that Nepal imports is any indication, the economy is not doing that bad. Also, the smartphone imports contributed over three billion rupees in customs duties.
Nepal imported over 1.1 million units of smartphones in the past six months, valued at Rs. 16.71 billion. That is Rs. 15,000 per unit. While the volume of imports declined to 1.1 million units from 2.2 million in 2023, the average import-spending saw an increase.
Nepal imports smartphones worth Rs 13.6 billion in the first fi...
On average, Rs 2.78 billion worth of mobiles were imported each month during the review period,
Deepak Malhotra, chairman of the Mobile Importers' Association, explained that although the volume of imports has decline, Nepalis are increasingly shifting from basic smartphones to their more advanced versions. Many users who previously carried basic phones have upgraded to smartphones priced above Rs 8,000-9,000, and those already using mid-range smartphones have moved to higher-end models, according to Malhotra.
Models like Samsung’s S24 have seen higher sales compared to the previous S23, reflecting a growing interest in advanced smartphone features, including AI support, he added.
