ISLAMABAD: The large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector grew by 3.56% in the first quarter (July-October) of the current fiscal year 2021-22 compared to the same period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed, WealthPK reported on Thursday.
According to the quantum index of large-scale manufacturing industries (QIM), the output increased by 0.30% in November this fiscal year compared to the same month of last year.
LSM accounts for approximately 80% of the manufacturing sector, and 9.73% of GDP followed by small scale manufactur-ing, which accounts for 2.12% of GDP and 16.6% of sectoral share, WealthPK reported.
The LSM data, which is collected from the provincial bureaus of statistics, the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) and the ministry of industries, indicates that month-on-month the OCAC reported -18.62% growth in November compared to the previous month of October 2021-22. On year-on-year, it posted a 5.50% decline in November 2021 against the same month of 2020.
Sectors related to the ministry of industries witnessed a growth of 5.98% in November 2021 compared to October 2021. On yearly basis, the ministry’s sectors recorded positive growth of 3.51% in November 2021 compared to the same month of 2020, according to the data.
Sectors like textiles, food, beverages and tobacco, coke and petroleum, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automobiles, iron and steel, paper and paperboard registered an increase in production in the first quarter of 2021-22 compared to the same period of 2020-21, while non-metallic mineral products, fertilisers, electronics and rubber products posted a decrease in production during the comparative period.
Textiles, which make up 20.91% of LSM, increased by 0.91%, food, beverages and tobacco by 5.15%, coke and petroleum products by 7.33%, chemicals 3.14%, leather products 10.49%, engineering products 0.81%, paper and board 9.39% and wood products 6.56% during the first quarter of 2021-22 compared to the same period of 2020-21, WealthPK reported.
Auto-manufacturing, the top-performing sector in LSM, showed a growth of 37.91%, pharmaceuticals 6.55%, iron and steel 11.62% and fertilisers 5.69%.
The sectors registering a growth decline during the first quarter of this fiscal year compared to same period of last year included non-metallic mineral products 2.66%, fertilisers 7.23%, electronics 10.92%, and rubber products 32.23%.
Growth in LSM is necessary for generating employment op-portunities for skilled workers and attracting foreign investment. -INP
