BUENOS AIRES – Argentina imported 4.4 million mobile telephones during the first half of this year, 28.9 percent fewer than during the same period in 2008, consulting firm IES said Tuesday.

The value of those imports, of which the greater part came from Brazil and Mexico, amounted to $497.9 million, down 36.5 percent from the same period the year before, the company said.

IES said that purchases of mobile phones fell 28.3 percent between the first half of 2008 and the first half of this year.

“This contraction, which was registered starting from the last two months of last year, marks the fall in consumption due to maturation of the market, as well as the effects of the deceleration of consumption because of the economic recession,” it said.

IES calculated that in Argentina, with its population of about 40 million, there are between 33 and 35 million mobile telephone lines.

During the first six months of the year, Brazil was the main provider of mobile phones to the Argentine market, supplying 67.6 percent of the total, followed by Mexico with 11.7 percent and China with 7.8 percent. EFE