Industrial production index rises 15.2 percent in Jan-Feb (Illustrative image. Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The country’s industrial production index (IPI) in the first two months of 2018 expanded by 15.2 percent year-on-year, much higher than the growth of 2.4 percent recorded in the same period last year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In February alone, the IPI dropped by 17.1 percent from the previous month due to the Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays which lasted from February 14-20.
In the two-month period, the processing and manufacturing sector rose by 17.7 percent; electricity production and distribution up 11.2 percent; mining up 5.7 percent; and water supply, and waste and sewage treatment up 4.3 percent.
High production growth was reported in the fields of electronics, computers and optical products (38.3 percent), metal ore mining (25.3 percent), metal production (21.1 percent), furniture production (20 percent), and drainage and sewage treatment (20 percent).
Slight increases were seen in crude oil and natural gas exploitation (5 percent), water supply and treatment (4.5 percent), and tobacco production (2.9 percent).
Surges were also recorded in major industrial products such as television (73 percent), iron and steel (40 percent), powdered milk, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and fabric (20-23 percent).
All 63 provinces and cities across the country witnessed growth in the IPI. The central coastal province of Ha Tinh led the nation with IPI growth of 164 percent, followed by Bac Ninh (45 percent) and Hai Phong, Quang Nam, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City with growth rates ranging between 6-20 percent.-VNA
