ISLAMABAD: The Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) of the country witnessed an impressive growth of 9.64 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The country’s LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 135.95 points during July-October (2017-18) against 123.99 points during July-October (2016-17), showing growth of over 9.64 per cent, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The highest growth of 5.90 per cent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Ministry of Industries, followed by 2.69 per cent growth in the products monitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 1.06 per cent growth in the indices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).
On a year-to-year basis, the industrial growth increased by 8.77 per cent during October 2017, as compared to same month of last year, while on a month-to-month basis, the industrial growth increased by 5.59 per cent in October 2017 when compared to growth of September 2017, the PBS data revealed.
Meanwhile, the major sectors that showed growth during July-October (2017-18) included textile (0.70 per cent), food, beverages and tobacco (14.24 per cent), coke and petroleum products (15.67 per cent), pharmaceuticals (2.93 per cent), chemicals (2.29 per cent), non-metallic mineral products (13.03 per cent), automobiles (28.40 per cent), iron and steel products (44.39 per cent), electronics (65.03 per cent), paper and board (7.56 per cent), engineering products (15.29 per cent) and rubber products (4.14 per cent).
On the other hand, the LSM industries that witnessed negative growth included fertilizers, the production of which decreased by 9.84 per cent, and leather products, the output of which declined by 2.72 per cent during the period under review.
The provisional QIM is being computed on the basis of the latest production data of 112 items received from sources including OCAC, Ministry of Industries and Production, and PBOS. OCAC provides data of 11 items, MoIP of 36 items while PBOS provide data of remaining 65 items.
