According to the Central Bank, in the year 2010, the figure rose to $138.2 million, while in the first ten months of 2011 it was $94.2 million.
Nearly 60% of imported devices this year come from the United States, accounting for $55.3 million.
"Another 21% of imports so far in 2011 come from the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong People's Republic of China and totaled $19.7 million.
The People's Republic of China is another major supplier of mobile phones for the country, having sold $8.2 million worth", reports Elmundo.com.sv
The growing trend in the import of phones is a phenomenon that is occurring throughout the region. Recent data from the Central American Integration Secretariat (SIECA) say they are of one of the main imported products.
Source: ElMundo.com
More on this topic
January 2009
By the end of 2008, El Salvador had the largest number of cell phones per person in Central America, with 6.6 million for a population of 5.8 million.
Experts say the large number of cell phones is a reflection of consumerism, promoted by intense advertising campaigns. Another factor that has played a role is the large number of Salvadorans living abroad, many of whom communicate with their families back home via mobile phone.
March 2009
Mobile phones, the strongest sector for the regional economy, registered a decline in earnings in 2008.
El Periódico reported on its website: "While América Móvil added 1 million new customers in Central America in 2008, revenues from its subsidiaries in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua fell by 3.4 % and its profits were reduced by 26.6%.
October 2010
IFC made a $ 3 million investment and an additional $ 2 million for YellowPepper company in Panama.
The investment will support expansion of mobile banking and access to financial services in Latin America. This is the first capital of the International Finance Corporation (IFC, in English), in a mobile banking firm in Latin America and brings the total investment in YellowPepper to over U.S $ 15 million.
October 2008
Canadian brand BlackBerry is looking to increase its participation in Guatemala, in the segment of "Professional" individual users.
Oscar Castellano, director of business affairs for Research In Motion Limited (RIM), the distributor of the device, said that last quarter they sold 2.6 million units worldwide, of which 1.6 million were acquired by professionals and the rest by the corporate (business) segment.
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