The nation's industrial production from Jan-Jul 2014 saw a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase, a positive sign of recovering production at enterprises, noted the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The index of industrial production (IIP), in the first seven months, registered the highest growth rate so far this year, compared to 3 percent in January, 5.4 percent in the first two months of the year, 5.2 in the first quarter and 5.8 percent in the first half of the year.

The IPP during Jan-July 2014 is also higher than the IPP during the same period last year, according to the GSO.

The office attributed the high IIP growth rate to the 8.1 percent surge in the processing and manufacturing sector, which accounted for 70 percent of total industrial output.

Industrial products with the highest growth rate in the period include mobile phones, with 77 million units, up 37.8 percent; rolled steel with 2 million tonnes, up 23.8 percent; televisions with 1.8 million, up 23.3 percent; shoes with 150.4 million pairs manufactured; and electric output with 72.3 billion Kwh, up 11.9 percent.

Meanwhile, other products that reported lower growth rates include steel, at 1.7 million tonnes, up 0.8 percent; and NPK fertiliser, with 1.4 miilion tonnes, up 1.4 percent.

Some products with declining output included motorbikes, with 1.85 million units, down 12.9 percent; liquefied petro gas (LPG) with 365,000 tonnes, down 10.7 percent; crude oil with 8.7 million tonnes, down 1.9 percent; and chemical paint with 275 tonnes, down 1.2 percent.

GSO experts attributed the low consumption to a slow rebound of the world economy, as well as low demand in the domestic market and a high inventory index.

The July 1 inventory index of the processing and manufacturing industry posted a month-on-month increase of 12.8 percent and a year-on-year surge of 13.2 percent.

Other sectors reporting higher inventories than the same period last year were electronics, computers, tobacco products, medicines, pharmaceutical products and materials, leather, and paper.-VNA