Themain reason is the strong decline in the mining industry of around 6 percent,the General Statistics Office (GSO), which released the data, said.
Ona positive note, the processing and manufacturing sector, which accounts for 75percent of total industrial production in the country, increased by 11.2 percent.While electricity production and distribution saw a growth of 11.5 percent, thewater supply and waste treatment sector rose 7.2 percent.
Industrialproducts that posted high IIP this year include televisions (up 70 percent),steel (up 27 percent), automobiles (up 22 percent), animal feed (up 18.3 percent),cement (up 15 percent) and milk powder (up 13 percent).
TheIIP, however, declined for products such as mobile phones (down 11 percent),crude oil (down 10 percent), sugar (down 8.3 percent) and fertiliser (down 6percent).
Amongthe provinces and cities that saw significant industrial production growth arethe central province of Quang Nam at 30 percent; the northern port city of HaiPhong and northern Thai Nguyen province at 24 percent and 17 percent,respectively; Hanoi at 7 percent; and HCM City, the southern hub, at 7.5 percent.
Despitea lower industrial production growth, there was an 8.4 percent rise in theconsumer index of the manufacturing and processing industry and an 8.1 percentincrease in its inventory index, the lowest level in the past few years, whichis proof that the national economy is well on track to recovery anddevelopment, Nguyen Bich Lam, head of GSO, said.
TheMinistry of Industry and Trade has already mapped out next year’s developmentplan for the industrial sector, and forecast an 8 percent rise in industrialproduction against this year. — VNA