GEC NEWS WIREReturns to Growth After Seven Consecutive Quarters of Decline
The Middle East and Africa PC market brought seven successive quarters of year-on-year declines to a halt in Q2 2014, posting long-awaited annual growth of 2.2% to total 4.5 million units. Compiled by global advisory and consutling services firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the figures show growth in both the desktop and portable product categories, with the former growing 2.9% year on year to reach 1.8 million units and the latter expanding 1.7% over the same period to total 2.7 million units.
The biggest growth in PC shipments was witnessed in the ‘Rest of Middle East’ sub-region, which comprises Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and Afghanistan, despite no vendors making any official PC shipments into these countries. “The high volumes of devices seen entering this sub-region came as parallel imports through second- and third-tier resellers,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. “However, parts of this sub-region have recently witnessed increased levels of instability, particularly in Iraq, and demand is now forecast to slow down slightly as a result, although we don’t expect these developments to prevent overall growth for 2014.”
“Other countries to experience growth in the region during Q2 2014 included Saudi Arabia and emerging markets such as Pakistan and parts of Africa,” continues Charakla. “The healthy shipments seen in most countries can either be attributed to a recovery from instability — be it economic, political, or social — or to previously low PC penetration rates. Bearing this in mind, Egypt and Nigeria are expected to be among the region’s fastest growing PC markets for the year 2014.”
