3:26:20 PM | 7/8/2005
Jan-Aug Industrial Production Up 15.4 per cent On-Year
Total industrial production value in August is estimated to have expanded by 16.4 per cent against the same month last year, bringing the country’s total in the first eight months up 15.4 per cent on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry (MoI).
Major industrial products including coal, processed aquatic products, garments and textiles, cartons, and crude oil saw high growth rates in the January-August period despite the sectors facing difficulties due to higher costs of source materials.
The private sector led the country in terms of growth rate with 21.6 per cent in the January-August period and the foreign-invested sector followed with 14.9% while State-owned firms reached a growth rate of 11.8 per cent.
However, the year-on-year increase of the country’s industrial production in the January-August period was still lower than the on-year growth rate of 15.9 per cent in the same period last year. Some products including electricity, rolled steel, electrical engines, diesel motors and electrical fans, which account for large proportions in the country’s industrial sector, posted growth rates lower than average growth rate of the sector in the period.
Furthermore, some localities such Ba Ria Vung Tau and Hai Duong, which contribute a large proportion to the industrial sector, reported a lower-than-expected growth rate. Prices of certain essential goods such as fertilizer, construction steel and cement remained at high levels, causing a negative impact on the development of the industrial sector in general.
To meet targets in the third quarter and targets for the whole year, the Ministry of Industry has requested that firms in the industry sector continue to find measures for lower production costs in order to decrease prices and raise the competitiveness of their products.
In the export area, besides using up all quotas, local enterprises must find effective measures to further penetrate into non-quota markets.
Particularly, the Ministry of Industry asked corporations and enterprises operating in the steel and fertilizer fields to keep their agent systems and sale networks in check to better curb and stabilise consumer prices.
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