TEHRAN – Iran's imports of mobile phones increased by 85 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), as compared to the last year’s corresponding period, ISNA reported.

Based on official customs data, some $1.395 billion worth of cellphones were imported into the country in the mentioned period, while in the previous year’s same time span the mobile phone imports stood at $756 million.

During the said five months, over 2,560 tons of cellphones were imported into the country, to register a 36-percent rise in terms of weight.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the total value of Iran’s non-oil trade was $34 billion in the mentioned period, which indicates that cellphones accounted for about five percent of the total value of the trade in the said time span.

Iranian mobile phone traders imported 15.8 million smartphones over the previous Iranian calendar year, according to the Iranian Association of Cellphones, Tablet, and Accessories Importers.

Back in January, the spokesman of the Iranian Association of Cellphone, Tablet, and Accessories Importers had announced that the price of cellphones had dropped 12-20 percent in domestic markets.

With the implementation of Iran’s National Mobile Registry Plan back in October 2017, people must register all new mobile phones to be eligible for use in the country. This law is to fight smuggling phones to Iran. As a result, all people who want to use their phones for more than one month in the Islamic Republic will need to register their phones as a way to pay the customs fees.

In April, Iran's Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sattar Hashemi announced the launch of a five-year plan for the domestic production of 14 million cellphones and tablets.

According to Hashemi, the mentioned program is going to create job opportunities for over 43,000 people and save the country over $1 billion during the said five years.

EF/MA