ISLAMABAD: The large-scale manufacturing (LSM) posted a paltry growth of 1.81 per cent year-on-year in March, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data revealed on Friday.

The meagre growth in the big industry’s production is stoking fears that the country may miss the economic growth target projected for this fiscal year.

In July-March, LSM posted a growth of 5.89pc year-on-year — so far below the FY18 target of 6.3pc. In 2016-17, it grew 5.6pc.

The fall in production in March is the outcome of drop in pharmaceuticals by 32pc, chemicals 0.49pc, fertilisers 15.02pc, leather products 0.86pc and wood products 57.4pc, respectively.

LSM constitutes 80pc of manufacturing and 10.7pc of the overall GDP. Contrary to this, small-scale manufacturing accounts for just 1.8pc in GDP and 13.7pc within manufacturing.

Production data of 36 items received from the Ministry of Industries and Production showed negative growth of 1.62pc in March. The contribution of 65 items reported by the provincial bureaus of statistics, on the other hand, rose by 2.12pc.

Figures of 11 items received from the Oil Companies Advisory Committee negatively contributed 1.31pc to LSM growth.

Industry-specific data show that petroleum products recorded the highest increase of 30.1pc, followed by automobiles 15.32pc, non-metallic mineral products 14.02pc, rubber products 6.58pc, iron and steel products 5.5pc, electronics 5.2pc, food, beverages and tobacco products 3.3pc, engineering products 2.5pc, paper and board 1.98pc, and textile 0.02pc.

In the automobile sector, the production of tractors went up 8.3pc year-on-year in March, jeeps and cars 14.2pc, light commercial vehicles 34.3pc, trucks 37.4pc and motorcycles 17.8pc. However, the manufacturing of buses dropped 24.4pc during the month under review.

The negative growth in the chemical sector was mainly driven by paints and varnishes-small, which recorded a drop of 3.6pc whereas caustic soda went up by 28.6pc.

In pharmaceuticals, syrups and tablets shrank by 57.8pc and 50.3pc, respectively. However, the production of capsules and injections rose by 175pc and 33.5pc, respectively.

In non-metallic mineral products, cement posted a growth of 14.3pc.

In the food, beverages and tobacco segment, the maximum increase of 112pc was recorded in cooking oil production. Other items that witnessed a positive growth were vegetable ghee, higher by 1.42pc and blended tea 224pc. However, the production of sugar dipped 20.5pc during the month under review.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2018