LSM posts 5.89 percent growth in nine months

KARACHI: Large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector posted 5.89 percent growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal year of 2018 as construction boom continued to push up consumption of cement and steel, while auto demand also increased during the period, official data showed on Friday.

The production in Jul-Mar 2017/18 as compared to Jul-Mar 2016/17 have been significantly increased in food, beverages and tobacco, coke and petroleum, pharmaceuticals, non-metallic mineral products, automobiles, iron and steel, electronics and paper and board while decreased in fertilisers and leather products,” the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said in a statement.

The government calculated growth for the outgoing fiscal year at 5.79 percent, based on “a strong performance in agriculture, industry and services sectors which grew by 3.81 percent, 5.80 percent and 6.43 percent, respectively,” it said in an annual economic survey that extrapolated data of eight months. Annual LSM growth was measured at 6.24 percent.

Full-year economic growth might turn out less than the initial estimate considering a downward trend in LSM sector, which contributes 80 percent to industry.

The government expected LSM growth at 6.3 percent for the current fiscal year of 2018.

PBS data showed that iron and steel sector with the third highest weight in the quantum index of LSM showed 27.5 percent rise in production during the July-March period of FY2018, followed by automobiles (18.95pc), non-metallic mineral products (12.14pc), and coke and petroleum products (12.31pc). Textile sector with the highest weight showed 0.44 percent growth in the period under review, while food sector grew 2.67 percent.

In March, LSM output increased 1.81 percent as compared to the corresponding month a year earlier and rose 5.88 percent if compared to February.

All the three data collection authorities registered increase in production during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

Oil Companies Advisory Council, logging outputs of 11 oil and petroleum products, measured 12.31 percent rise in output during the month. Provincial bureau of statistics, counting production of 65 products, recorded 7.21 percent growth.

Ministry of industries, measuring output trend of 36 items, recorded 4.85 percent increase in production during the month under review.

Production of petroleum products surged 45.33 percent to 377 million litres in the July-March period of FY2018. The second highest increase of 44.93 percent was registered in output of liquefied petroleum gas to 517 million litres.

Diesel production soared 28 percent to 25 million litres, followed by motor spirits (up 18.65 percent to 2.2 billion litres).

PBS data further showed that cement output jumped 12.24 percent to 31.2 million tons in the first nine months of FY2018. Paper and paper board output rose nine percent to 546,551 tons. Production of tractors, trucks, buses, jeeps and cars, light commercial vehicles and motorcycles witnessed double-digit growth during the period under review.