By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector posted its strongest monthly growth in years during November, expanding 10.37% from a year earlier amid a rebound in automobiles, petroleum products and other key industries, even as exports continued to slide and some segments lagged.
The pickup lifted cumulative output 6.01% in the first five months of the fiscal year through November, with a modest 0.16% gain from October, according to data released on Friday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The figures signal a tentative revival for an industry that accounts for about 8% of gross domestic product and has been hammered by high borrowing costs, energy disruptions and import curbs tied to International Monetary Fund-backed stabilisation efforts.
Automobiles led the charge in November, surging 61.35% year-on-year, while coke and petroleum products jumped 43.66%, and other transport equipment climbed 42.8%. Beverages rose 32.6%, garments increased 18.4%, and electrical equipment advanced 16.7%. Cement output gained 8.74%, with solid contributions also from tobacco, non-metallic minerals and rubber products. Textiles edged up 2.52%, and food production ticked higher by 0.7%.
For the July-November period, automobiles showed the biggest cumulative advance at 75%, followed by coke and petroleum products at 18.06%, cement at 13.47% and garments at 7.14%. Other gains came in food, beverages, tobacco, paper and board, rubber products, non-metallic mineral products, fabricated metal, computer, electronics and optical products, and electrical equipment.
The weighted contributions to the five-month growth included automobiles at 1.77 points, petroleum products at 1.29, garments at 1.24, cement at 0.78, food at 0.47 and textiles at 0.32. Smaller positive impacts came from tobacco, paper and board, electrical equipment and other transport equipment.
Not every industry benefited. Machinery and equipment plunged 16.4% in November, iron and steel fell 5.99%, leather products dropped 2.35% and paper and board dipped 1.37%. Over the five months, declines hit leather products, wood products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, and furniture.
The upturn comes despite a persistent slump in exports, which fell 8.7% to $15.184 billion in the first half of the fiscal year through December, down from $16.63 billion a year earlier. Analysts say reduced imports may have spurred domestic production, but the five straight months of export contraction casts doubt on the sustainability of the LSM gains.
Manufacturers are still grappling with elevated input costs and taxes, though recent steps like winter electricity tariff relief could help. The State Bank of Pakistan’s 50-basis-point rate cut to 10.5% last month may bolster liquidity and sentiment, but its effects on output remain to be seen.
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