Large Scale Manufacturing Posts 5.5% Growth In 6 Months

Fakhir Rizvi Published February 18, 2018 | 03:20 PM

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Feb, 2018 ) :The country's large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector has witnessed growth of 5.5 percent during July-December 2017-18 compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) of large scale manufacturing industries was recorded at 137.2 points during July-December 2017-18 against 129.99 points during same period of last year, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The highest growth of 8.14 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) followed by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) with 5.78 percent and the indices of Ministry of Industries with 5.20 percent.

On month-on-month basis, the industrial output increased by 14.2 percent in December 2017 compared to November 2017 while it decreased by 1.4 per cent if compared to December 2016. Meanwhile, the major sectors that showed growth during two months of current fiscal year compared to same period of the previous year, included textile (0.

55 percent), coke and petroleum products (8.14 percent), pharmaceuticals (3.63 percent), non metallic mineral products (10.23 percent), automobiles (21.86 percent), iron and steel products (37.13 percent), electronics (50.46 per cent), paper and board (8.84 percent), engineering products (4.2 per cent), and rubber products (5.92 percent).

On the other hand, the industries that witnessed negative growth include food, beverages and tobacco (0.27 percetn), chemicals (0.4 percent), fertilizers (9.84 percent), leather products (5.93 percent), and wood products (19.22 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.