The opening five months of the year have seen the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grow annually by approximately 1%, the slowest pace recorded in many years due to the negative impacted caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The Index of Industrial Production has grown at a record low in many years  

With the epidemic being successfully brought under control, the entire nation has entered a period where it is simultaneously both combating the epidemic and making every effort to revitalise the national economy with plenty of positive signs ahead with regard to industrial production activities.

In line with this positivity, the IIP surged by 11.2% in May in comparison with the previous month, despite suffering a 3.1% decrease in comparison with the same period from 2019.

Indeed, the past five months have seen the IIP grow by an estimated annual amount of 1%, much lower than the 9.5% increase seen during the same period from last year.

Most notably, the processing and manufacturing sector increased by 2.2%, contributing 2% to the general increase, while electricity production and distribution rose by 2.6%, therefore contributing 0.2%. In contrast, the mining industry dropped by 8.1%, leading to a 1.3% fall in the overall increase.

The GSO stated that the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic globally have led to a shortage of input materials, subsequently hitting industrial production.

Other key products that have followed this downward trend are beer, down 24.5%, automobiles, down 26.9%, motorbikes, down 15.6%, crude oil, down 13.7%, and liquefied petroleum gas, down 11.8%.

Elsewhere, some industries are still recording fair growth such as phone components, monosodium glutamate MSG, and steel.

The number of employees working in industrial enterprises as of May 1 grew by 0.9% from the previous month, a 1.7% decrease on-year, of which employees at state-owned enterprises fell by 1.9%, with non-state enterprises falling by 2.5%, and FDI enterprises by 1.3%.