A garment factory in Lào Cai Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s index of industrial production (IIP) in January edged up 18.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The IIP, however, decreased by 4.4 per cent compared to the previous month. The GSO said this development was quite similar to 2023 with a continuous decline at the beginning of the year and a return to growth in the last months of the year. This result could also be considered a basis for IIP to leap forward in the upcoming period.

According to TTJ Company in Thái Nguyên Province, the firm had orders to export agricultural machinery to Canada until the end of this year.

The company's director Nguyễn Trung Thành told baothainguyen.vn that his company aimed to achieve revenue of about VNĐ50 billion in 2024, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the previous year.

The GSO said the manufacturing and processing sector grew by 19.3 per cent year-on-year, contributing the most to the overall growth (15.1 percentage points); electricity production and distribution surged by 21.6 per cent, contributing 1.9 percentage points; water supply, management of waste, and wastewater treatment rose by 5.7 per cent, contributing 0.1 percentage point; and the mining sector edged up by 7.3 per cent, contributing 1.2 percentage points.

Some key industries registering significant increases in IIP in the first month of this year included furniture (up 67 per cent); textile and garment (46 per cent); electrical equipment (43 per cent); metal production (39 per cent); chemicals and chemical products (38 per cent); leather and leather-made goods (35 per cent) and food processing (17 per cent).

Several goods that saw positive IIP growth such as sugar (up 66 per cent); rolled steel (60 per cent); textiles made from natural fibres (57 per cent); powdered milk (47 per cent); chemical paint (45 per cent); and NPK fertiliser (41 per cent). 

The national statistical agency also outlined products recording IIP declines in January, such as phone components (down 15 per cent), television (11 per cent), handsets (4 per cent), and crude oil (2 per cent). 

It added that compared to the same period last year, 60 localities posted increases in their IIP while only three localities saw decreases. Some localities witnessed a fairly high increase in the IIP due to a sharp increase in the processing and manufacturing industry, electricity production and distribution industry, including Quảng Ninh (160 per cent), Bắc Giang (58 per cent), Nam Định (156 per cent), Vĩnh Long (51 per cent), Kiên Giang (48 per cent) and Phú Thọ (40 per cent).

The number of workers in industrial enterprises as of January 1, 2024, increased by 0.5 per cent month-on-month and by 0.1 per cent year-on-year. 

Particularly, the number of workers in the State-owned enterprise sector remained unchanged compared to the same time last month and declined by 0.9 per cent year on year. However, the number of workers in non-State enterprises increased by 0.1 per cent on month and decreased by one per cent on year; while the number in foreign-invested enterprises increased by 0.7 per cent on month and decreased by 0.8 per cent on year. — VNS