Large-scale manufacturing sector grows 14.57% in 11 months

Production in the large-scale manufacturing sector (LSM) grew 14.57% in the first 11 months (July to May) of the fiscal year ended June 30, compared with a negative growth of 10.32% in the same period of the year. last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released on Tuesday.

Ten major industries, out of a total of 15 listed in the LSM sector, recorded increased production in the 11 months under review, including textiles, food, beverages and tobacco, coke and petroleum products, pharmaceuticals; chemical products, non-metallic minerals, automobiles, steel products, fertilizers and paper, and cardboard.

Products that saw output decline include electronics, leather products, engineering products, rubber products, and wood products.

Production in the LSM sector soared 36.84% to 139.55 points on the LSM index in May compared with a negative growth of 24.80% to 102.92 points in the same month last year. However, “it decreased by 3.93% compared to the (previous month) of April 2021,” PBS said.
May seemed to be the fourth straight month in which the industry continued to decline despite the third and fourth waves of the Covid-19 epidemic in Pakistan.

Despite the downward trajectory in May, growth in the first 11 months analyzed rose to 14.57% compared to the “15-year high of 9% in the first nine months (July-March) of FY21”, according to the Economic Survey 2020 -21.

“World buyers have shifted their textile orders to Pakistan after the Covid-19 crisis in neighboring India has worsened in recent months,” said the former president of the Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry the other day ( FPCCI), Zubair Tufail.

In addition, the cement, steel, pharmaceutical, and oil industries continued to outperform after the acceleration in local demand for these products.

“The housing, construction, and allied industries have maintained the growth trend, despite the significant rise in the price of construction material in recent months,” he said.

The receipt of significantly high remittances from Pakistani workers abroad to their families in the country and the offer of subsidized housing finance and comparatively cheaper car finance by banks have caused people to liberalize their spending and purchasing habits in the pandemic, he said.