Large-scale manufacturing declines by 3.5pc in December

Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) declined for the fourth consecutive month in December, shrinking 3.51 per cent year-on-year (YoY), data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Wednesday. Big industry output has largely been declining since the start of the current fiscal year, with only a paltry rise recorded in August. There was a negative growth of 5.49pc in November, 7.7pc in October and 2.27pc in September on a year-on-year basis. The YoY decline in December was led by the textile sector, which shrank 21.24pc, followed by automobiles (36.22pc), pharmaceuticals (12.72pc), iron and steel products (8.12pc) and chemicals (3.82pc). On the other hand, the furniture sector posted a growth of 182.35pc, wearing apparel (25.5pc) and food (11.05pc). However, on a month-on-month basis, LSM increased by 12.38pc. PBS data showed that in the first half of the current fiscal year, LSM declined by 3.68pc compared to July-December 2021. The main contributors were textile (down 13.06pc), pharmaceuticals (21.56pc), non-metallic mineral products (11.72pc), coke and petroleum products (11.15pc), food (2.39pc) and chemicals (1.13pc).