Effects of COVID-19 see industrial production plummet

The Index of Industrial Production has grown at a record low in many years

In line with this positivity, the IIP surged by 11.2% in May in comparison with the previous month, despite suffering a 3.1% decrease in comparison with the same period from 2019.

Indeed, the past five months have seen the IIP grow by an estimated annual amount of 1%, much lower than the 9.5% increase seen during the same period from last year.

Most notably, the processing and manufacturing sector increased by 2.2%, contributing 2% to the general increase, while electricity production and distribution rose by 2.6%, therefore contributing 0.2%. In contrast, the mining industry dropped by 8.1%, leading to a 1.3% fall in the overall increase.

The GSO stated that the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic globally have led to a shortage of input materials, subsequently hitting industrial production.

Other key products that have followed this downward trend are beer, down 24.5%, automobiles, down 26.9%, motorbikes, down 15.6%, crude oil, down 13.7%, and liquefied petroleum gas, down 11.8%.

Elsewhere, some industries are still recording fair growth such as phone components, monosodium glutamate MSG, and steel.

The number of employees working in industrial enterprises as of May 1 grew by 0.9% from the previous month, a 1.7% decrease on-year, of which employees at state-owned enterprises fell by 1.9%, with non-state enterprises falling by 2.5%, and FDI enterprises by 1.3%.