HÀ NỘI - The national industrial production index (IIP) saw a year-on-year increase of 9.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The positive growth was fuelled by the processing and manufacturing industry which increased remarkably by 11 per cent compared to the same period last year, head of the GSO Nguyễn Bích Lâm told a recent conference in Hà Nội.

He added the index rose 9.4 per cent year-on-year for electricity production and distribution and 8.5 per cent for water supply and waste treatment.

Meanwhile, the mining industry fell 2.1 per cent in the three-month period.

Other products that recorded a high production index compared with the same period last year included refined petroleum products (up 73.2 per cent), iron and steel (65 per cent), television sets (50 per cent) and liquefied petroleum gas (38 per cent). Others included urea fertiliser (up 13 per cent), footwear (12 per cent) and fish feed (11 per cent).  

From January to March, the IIP of 59 out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities increased over the same period last year. The central province of Thanh Hóa recorded the highest IIP growth rate at 51.2 per cent thanks to the Nghi Sơn oil refinery and petrochemical plant in the locality officially began commercial operations in December.

The southern province of Trà Vinh came next with growth of 41 per cent because of the Duyên Hải thermal power plant’s production expansion. It was followed by the central province of Hà Tĩnh (34 per cent) and the northern port city of Hải Phòng (20 per cent). The northern provinces of Vĩnh Phúc, Quảng Ninh and Hải Dương recorded 12 per cent, 10 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country’s economic hubs of HCM City and Hà Nội lagged behind with respective IIP increases of 7 per cent and 7.2 per cent, the GSO noted.   

According to the office, the number of employees working at industrial companies as of March 1 had risen by 2.3 compared to a year ago. — VNS