The Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) production in Pakistan recorded a decline of 1.09% in July 2023 to 108.01, compared with 109.2 in July 2022, data by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.
Similarly, the LSMI growth witnessed a dip of 3.62% against 112.07 recorded in June of the ongoing year.
Among the major sectors, the output of cotton yarn declined by 29.88%, cotton cloth by 17.52% and petroleum products showed a decline of 2.26%. However, cement production increased by 38.6%, garments by 30.84%, and fertilizers output recorded an increase of 26.06% in July.
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The sectors showing growth during the month under review included food (1.14%), tobacco (0.3%), wearing apparel (4.31%), chemicals (0.49%), chemicals products (-0.65%), fertilizers (1.14%), pharmaceuticals (2.28%), rubber products (0.02%), non-metallic mineral products (1.67%), and machinery and equipment (0.01%).
The most-recent round of electricity tariff increase is not necessarily reflected completely in July numbers. Natural gas prices are all set to be considerably higher, with effect from July, and will hit the industrial sector more than most categories. While the LSM may well have hit the bottom – the journey north is going to be a very slow one.
