ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: The large-scale manufacturing sector (LSM) grew by 3.54 per cent in the first two months of the current fiscal year compared to the last year.
The industrial sector posted growth despite power shortages and higher input cost.
The sector witnessed sluggish growth in the past one year on the back of negative growth recorded in few months especially in July, making it one of the worst months from manufacturing point of view, suggests data of Federal Bureau of Statistics on Friday.
The LSM recorded an impressive growth of 6.84 per cent in August this year over the last year.The fluctuations in industrial growth of LSM, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of industry output, accrued as a result of three main pushing factors: energy crisis, ever-rising input cost and lack of demand in domestic and international market.
Relying on the growth, the government had expected that the economy would grow by about 4.2 per cent. However, the IMF in its recent forecast has put the growth rate at merely 2.6 per cent by end June 2012.
The industrial production had been steadily on decline for the last few years owing to capacity constraints and closer of many units as a result of high cost of doing business and lack of an industrial policy to encourage new units.
But major contribution towards the growth performance came from durables like growth in automobiles, external demand in textiles and leather products and some impetus from pharmaceutical and chemical groups.
Industry specific data showed that many sub-sectors didn’t perform well in the months under review mostly electronic goods, which led to jump in imports of consumer and electronic items.
In the electronic and electrical goods, production of deep freezers was down by 54.40 per cent, air conditioners 17.18 per cent, electric tubes 3.59 per cent, switch gears 62.29 per cent, electric transformers 59.98 per cent, storage batteries 41.0 3 per cent, and bicycles 40.32 per cent during the last fiscal year.
However, television production recorded a tremendous growth of 16 per cent, deep freezers 7.12 per cent, electric bulbs 11.67 per cent, electric fans 18.92 per cent, electric motors 16.99 per cent, electric meters 20.80 per cent, and generatingsets 1,050 per cent, respectively.
The textile sector, which has an adjusted weight of 32.6 per cent in the LSM basket, recorded growth in 2011-12 over the previous year. Only cotton yarn and cotton cloth (both semi-finished products) succeeded to improve with 1.16 per cent, 6.52 per cent and knitting wool 7.05 per cent, respectively.
The best growth was witnessed in case of food, beverages and tobacco. The sector has adjusted weight of 19.1 per cent in LSM basket.
Vegetable ghee grew by 11.20pc, cooking oil 3.69pc, tea blended 53.87pc and wheat 7.94pc, beverages 25.86pc and cigarettes 1.16pc.
The sugar industry posted a growth of 6.33 per cent in July-Aug this year over the last year. Sugar has 5.5 per cent adjusted weight in the LSM basket.
Petroleum sector, which has a significant adjusted weight of 6.9 per cent in LSM basket, witnessed a positive growth of 15.54pc.
Another important sector, which provides jobs in large numbers across the country is the automobile sector. However, tractors production dropped by 72.57pc, trucks 45.59 pc, buses 32.94pc and jeeps and cars 4.51pc. But the production of LCVs up by 8.61pc and motor cycles 14.76 per cent, respectively.