Iran Mobile Market: Prices High, Supply Low

During the seven months to Oct. 22, 1.7 million mobile phones were imported into Iran. This is while monthly domestic demand for cellphones is said to be over and above 1 million. This has created chaos in Iran’s mobile phone market with prices going through the roof.
According to data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, during the seven-month period, 1,737,475 cellphones worth $266 million were imported. The numbers indicate a 28% and 43% increase in imports respectively in terms of volume and value, ISNA reported.
While authorities report a "significant increase" in mobile phone import, the deputy head of Tehran Chamber of Guilds, Ebrahim Dorosti, told Peivast news website, “Monthly demand for handsets is between 1 and 1.2 million units.”
Over the past few months, while authorities boasted about the “significant increase” in mobile phone imports, market observers pointed out that prior to the introduction of the so-called Mobile Registry Scheme, most handsets sold in the country were smuggled, adding that the number of handsets entering the country is less than one-fifth of demand.