Manufacturing drives industrial production
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) edged up 5.9% in October and 5.4% in the past ten months of this year, driven by an expansion in industrial manufacturing and processing.
In the January-October period, industrial processing and manufacturing contributed 4.9% to the increase, while electricity production and distribution contributed 0.6% and water supply, waste and liquid treatment contributed 0.1%.
The employment index at industrial companies indicated that they were recovering from their long slump, recording a 4.4% year-on-year rise as of October 1. A rise in the import of materials and machinery for production also testified to the recovery of domestic production.
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| Assembling spare parts at northern Vinh Phuc Province's Khai Quang Industrial Park. (Photo:VNS) |
Moreover, the inventory index of the manufacturing and processing industry as a whole jumped only 9.7% from the same period last year.
Some sectors even saw remarkable declines: the inventory index of electronic accessories fell 74.9%, while that of motor vehicle production went down 48% and cement inventories declined nearly 44%.
According to economist Vu Dinh Anh, the fact that the inventory index was below 10% showed that the economy was far better than last year.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) forecast that inventories would shrink in the remaining months of the year because demand usually goes up in this period, particularly in the apparel and footwear sectors.
At a recent ministry video conference, MoIT Deputy Minister Ho Thi Kim Thoa said to meet the 2013 target, departments and agencies should focus on satisfying demand in the domestic market and strengthening distribution systems nationwide.
Apart from maintaining traditional export markets and developing new markets, businesses needed to propose detailed solutions for production issues, she added.
Boosting industrial production is one of the key factors to develop the national economy in the 2011-20 Socio-economic Development Strategy, 2011-15 Socio-economic Plan and Socio-economic Planning for 2013.
The government aims to create economic momentum by investing in key industrial centres as well as industrial products.