From January to April, the processing and manufacturing industry posted a yearly rise of 9.6 per cent, while electricity distribution and production increased 12.1 per cent year-on-year. — Photo ndh.vn

Viet Nam News -HÀ NỘI — The national index of industrial production (IIP) in the first four months of this year surged 7.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). 

GSO attributed the IIP’s positive growth to the great efforts of domestic industrial enterprises in spurring consumption.

In the first four months of 2016, the consumption index of local industry climbed 12.7 per cent, much higher than the 9.1 per cent seen in the first quarter of this year.

However, the climb in industrial production was still lower than the 9.6 percent rise recorded in the same period last year, GSO noted.

From January to April, the processing and manufacturing industry posted a yearly rise of 9.6 per cent, while electricity distribution and production increased 12.1 per cent year-on-year.

Industrial products that posted high IIP growth in the reviewed period included televisions (up 47 per cent), automobiles (up 24 per cent), steel and iron (up 18.5 per cent), animal feed (up 18 per cent) and cement (up 16 per cent).

IIP, however, declined for several products, such as mobile phones (down 10 per cent), fertiliser (down 6.5 per cent), crude oil (down 5 per cent) and sugar (down 1.2 per cent).

In the next few months, the world crude oil price is expected to stay low so it is a good chance for industrial entrepreneurs to restructure their production and business, cut production costs and improve quality of products before crude oil prices recover, Vũ Bá Phú, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Planning Department, said.

In addition, prices of some services for production, such as warehousing and transport, will decrease in the same period to create favourable conditions for production and business for the enterprises, he said.

Phú called on enterprises to strengthen their traditional markets, expand potential markets, actively look for human and financial resources and invest in technologies for developing material suppliers. — VNS