Industrial output grows 5.69pc in 11 months

ISLAMABAD: The country's large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector grew by 5.69 percent during the first 11 months of current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) of large scale manufacturing industries was recorded at 140.32 points during July-May (2016-17) against 132.77 points during same period of last year, official sources said.

The highest growth of 6.43 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Ministry of Industries, followed by 4.29 percent growth in the products monitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 3.00 growth in the indices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).

On year-to-year basis, the industrial growth increased by 6.3 percent during May 2017 as compared to same month of last year, however, on month-to-month basis, the industrial growth decreased by 6.38 percent in May 2017 when compared to growth of April 2017, according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Meanwhile, the major sectors that showed growth during July- May (2016-17) included textile (0.72 percent), food, beverages and tobacco (11 percent), coke and petroleum products (2.73 per cent), pharmaceuticals (9.22 percent), non metallic mineral products (5.81 percent), automobiles (12.27 percent), iron and steel products (20.02 percent), fertilizers (1.81 percent), electronics (16.18 percent), paper and board (7.1 percent), engineering products (4.11 percent) and rubber products (0.21 percent).

On the other hand, the LSM industries that witnessed negative growth, included chemicals (2.38 percent), leather products (17.75 percent) and wood products (94.21 percent).

The provisional QIM is being computed on the basis of the latest production data of 112 items received from sources including Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) and Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBoS).

OCAC provides data of 11 items, MoIP of 36 items while PBoS proved data of remaining 65 items.