Nepali Smartphone Market Booms: Highest Imports in Four Years, Sales Up 40 Percent

Kathmandu: After years of sluggish growth, Nepal’s smartphone market has rebounded sharply. In the fiscal year 2081/82, the country recorded its highest smartphone imports in four years, with sales rising by 40 percent.

According to data from the Department of Customs, 2.184 million smartphones worth Rs 35.54 billion were imported last fiscal year, marking the highest volume since 2078/79. The government collected Rs 6.62 billion in customs revenue from these imports.

Compared to fiscal year 2080/81, smartphone imports increased by about 19 percent. That year, Nepal imported 1.839 million smartphones worth Rs 28.66 billion, generating Rs 5.33 billion in revenue.

Customs data shows the market is steadily recovering. In 2079/80, 1.569 million smartphones valued at Rs 24.39 billion entered Nepal. But the market hit its lowest point during the post-Covid slump of 2078/79, when just 176,000 smartphones worth Rs 2.82 billion were imported.

Sales have picked up in line with rising imports. According to mobile entrepreneur Dinesh Chulyadyo, smartphone sales increased by 30 to 40 percent last year compared to the year before.  “The mobile phone market is improving very well,” Chulyadyo told TechPana. “There is an increase not only in terms of customs figures but also real sales across the country.”

Demand for Second-Hand Phones Also Rises

Business owners say the second-hand and refurbished smartphone market has also expanded significantly. Buyers are especially drawn to older Apple iPhone models.

Chulyadyo, who is also the outgoing president of the Nepal Mobile Distributors Association, says sales have risen due to the availability of used iPhones, ranging from models 5, 6, and 7 to 11, 12, and 13, priced between Rs 10,000 and 30,000. Demand for Samsung’s older flagship models is also growing.

Last year, when official iPhone importer Generation Next reduced the base price to Rs 22,000, dealers say sales through authorized channels increased, helping curb illegal imports to some extent.

 

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