By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The large-scale manufacturing sector posted a solid 5.02% expansion in the first four months of the fiscal year through October, bucking a broader slide in exports and signalling resilience in domestic demand amid currency stability.
The growth, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed, marks a notable rebound from the prior year’s performance. In October alone, output jumped 8.33% from a year earlier and climbed 3.75% from September, underscoring a strengthening momentum in key industries. The uptick was driven by standout gains in several segments, according to the bureau’s Quantum Index of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries, which assigns weights to various sectors based on their economic footprint.
Food contributed 0.66 points to the overall growth, followed by petroleum products at 0.89, garments at 0.83, cement at 0.83, and automobiles at a hefty 1.82. Other positive movers included tobacco (0.04), textiles (0.28), paper and board (0.10), electrical equipment (0.17), and other transport equipment (0.22).On the flip side, drags came from chemicals (-0.16), pharmaceuticals (-0.43), iron and steel products (-0.15), machinery and equipment (-0.04), and furniture (-0.26).
Comparing production volumes from July to October this year against the same stretch last year, increases were recorded across food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, wearing apparel, leather products, paper and board, coke and petroleum products, rubber products, non-metallic mineral products, fabricated metal, computer, electronics and optical products, electrical equipment, automobiles, and other transport equipment.
Declines hit wood products, chemical products, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel products, machinery and equipment, and furniture.
Analysts attribute much of the surge to a boom in the auto industry, which soared 79% year-over-year in October. “The impressive growth in the automobile sector is mainly responsible for this impressive growth,” experts noted in assessments of the data. They added that while exports are trending downward, “the domestic manufacturing sector is showing robust growth with a surge in demand for locally manufactured goods.”
The shift stems in part from elevated import costs. “The majority of the imported items became out of reach of the masses, mainly because of the high dollar rate.” That export weakness remains a sore spot for the economy. Shipments tumbled 14.54% to $12.87 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year, down from $13.72 billion in the comparable period a year ago.
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