Hanoi (VNA) - The national index ofindustrial production (IIP) rose by 2.4 percent year-on-year in the first twomonths of 2017, according to the latest report of the General StatisticsOffice.
The electricity production and distribution saw agrowth of 9.3 percent while processing and manufacturing sector registered a 6.6percent increase. The water supply and waste treatment sector also expanded by 6.6percent, but the mining industry suffered a strong drop of 13.5 percent.
Several main industrial products achieved good growth, such as rolledsteel (35.4 percent), television (16.7 percent), automobiles (15.2 percent) andapparels (14.3 percent).
Products that saw reductions in output included artificial fiber (1percent), coal (6.3 percent) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 8.5 percent.
In the reviewed period, several localities with large-scaleindustrial production reported growth, such as Hai Phong (17.2 percent), ThaiNguyen (10.1 percent), Da Nang (9.6 percent), Hai Duong (9.4 percent), BinhDuong and Dong Nai 5.9 percent, HCM City 5.8 percent, Hanoi 5.1 percent and CanTho 4.9 percent.
The inventory index of the manufacturing andprocessing sector as of February 1 increased by 13.3 percent from the sameperiod last year. Some sectors with surges in inventory index included paperand paper-products with a 106.9 percent rise, beverage 66.6 percent; electronicproducts, computers and optical products 61.3 percent, and non-ferrous mineral productsby 43.7 percent.
As of February 1, the number of workers atindustrial enterprises rose 2.5 percent from one year ago. The private sectorsaw a 1 percent expansion in its workforce, the foreign-invested sectorreported a 4.4 percent growth, while the state-owned sector saw its workforceshrink 1.9 percent.-VNA
