Vietnam's Industrial Production Up 7.4 Pct In First 2 Months

Vietnam's national index of industrial production increased 7.4 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Wednesday

HANOI (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Mar, 2021 ) :Vietnam's national index of industrial production increased 7.4 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Wednesday.

The processing and manufacturing sector, the main driver of the surge, went up 10.4 percent. The electricity production and distribution sector expanded 4.3 percent, and the water supply and waste management sector was up 4.8 percent, said the office.

In February alone, the industrial production index plunged 21.1 percent against the previous month due to impacts of the latest wave of COVID-19 infections which hit Vietnam since Jan.

28, said the office.

Over January and February, the production of television sets witnessed the largest output increase year on year at 61.5 percent, followed by phone accessories (55.7 percent) and rolled steel (47.3 percent).

In the same period, the output of petroleum and oil went down by 55 percent, while that of crude oil went down 10.8 percent.

As of Feb. 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector declined by 2.4 percent year on year. In particular, employment decreased 1.8 percent in mining businesses and dropped 2.5 percent in processing and manufacturing firms, said the office.