HCMC – Vietnam’s index of industrial production (IIP) in January-August grew 5.6% compared to the same period last year despite the negative impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.
The manufacturing and processing sector posted the strongest increase of 7%, contributing 5.9 percentage points to the overall growth, followed by the production and distribution of electricity, which rose 6.6% and contributed 0.6 percentage points.
The water supply and treatment of waste and wastewater sector grew 4.4%, contributing 0.1 percentage point to the overall growth. However, the mining sector shrank 6.2%.
The IIP of some key industries soared compared to the same period last year, such as metal production (up 30.4%), motored vehicles (up 23.1%), garments and textiles (up 8.2%), beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs (up 8.2%), leather products (up 7.9%) and computers and electronic products (7.8%).
Ninh Thuan Province led the country in terms of IIP growth in the eight-month period with a year-on-year increase of 34.1% thanks to the expansion in the production of prefabricated metal products, food and foodstuff, and garments and textiles.
The south-central province was followed by Nghe An, Haiphong and Bac Ninh with an IIP growth rate of 23.1%, 20.6% and 9.8%, respectively.
Although the IIP in January-August grew 5.6%, the IIP in August alone dropped 4.2% month-on-month and 7.4% year-on-year.
The manufacturing and processing sector dived the steepest as it shrank 9.2%, followed by the mining sector, which shrank 2.4%.
Meanwhile, the production and distribution of electricity grew 1.5% and water supply and treatment of waste and wastewater grew 0.2%.
The southern cities and provinces, which have been hit the hardest by the fourth Covid-19 wave starting in late April, saw sharp decreases in their industrial production this month.
The worst affected localities were Ben Tre, Dong Thap, HCMC and Vinh Long, whose IIP declined 60.1%, 59.1%, 49.2% and 41.5%, respectively.
As of early August, the number of workers in the industrial production sector fell 5.3% month-on-month and 10.6% year-on-year.
