ISLAMABAD: Cement production during July-August (2009-10) increased by 18.78 per cent as against the corresponding period of last financial year, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

Cement production during the first two months of current financial year was recorded at 5,344,000 tons as against the production of 4,499,000 tons recorded during July-August, 2008-09, the figures revealed.

Cement production in the month of August 2009 recorded an increase of 25.47 per cent as compared to the production in July 2009.

About 2,685,000 tons of cement was produced during August 2009 against the production of 2,140,000 tons recorded during July 2009.

The other large-scale manufacturing items which recorded an increase in their production during the first two months of the current financial year included, motor cycles (30.73 per cent), jeeps and cars (3.91 per cent), tractors (27.83 per cent), phosphate fertilizers (1.60 per cent), nit fertilizers (2.65 per cent), soda ash (8.41 per cent) paper and board (3.17 per cent) and coke-Pakistan steel (39.55 per cent), the FBS figures revealed.

There has been a slight increase of 0.79 per cent in the production of cotton cloth where as the production of petroleum products increased by 17.51 per cent, jute batching oil by 25.71 per cent and jute fuel oil by 6.64 per cent.

On the other hand, production of overall petroleum products declined by 13.31 per cent during July-August 2009-10 as against the same period of the last financial year.

Production of kerosene oil reduced by 39.42 per cent, high speed diesel by 13.10 per cent, diesel oil by 28.87 per cent furnace oil by 21.62 per cent lubricating oil by 2.84 per cent, solvent naphtha by 32.69 per cent while the production of LPG declined by 10.30 per cent.

The other LSM products showing decline in production included cigarettes (9.22 per cent), cotton yearn (1.35 per cent), jute good (16.50 per cent), Hessian (14.53 per cent), sacking (17.15 per cent), caustic soda (17.66 per cent), class plates and sheets (1.44 per cent), pig iron (39.83 per cent) and trucks (27.76 per cent) during the period under review.—APP