Viet Nam's IIP in the first five months of this year increased by 1 per cent over the same period last year. — Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Viet Nam’s index of industrial production (IIP) in May rose by 11.2 per cent over the previous month but decreased by 3.1 per cent year on year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The growth of May's IIP was a positive signal during Viet Nam’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring development of the economy, GSO said. At present, the pandemic is under control nationwide.

Of the figure, industrial production decreased by 13 per cent in the mining industry; 2.4 per cent in the processing and manufacturing sector; 2 per cent in the electricity production and distribution industry; and 2.3 per cent in the water supply and waste treatment sector.

The GSO also said the IIP in the first five months of this year increased by 1 per cent over the same period last year. However, this figure was much lower than the growth of 9.5 per cent in the first five months of 2019 compared to the same period of 2018.

During the first five months, the index surged by 2.2 per cent in the processing and manufacturing industry year on year, lower than the growth rate of 10.9 per cent in the first five months of 2019 compared to the same period of 2018.

The index increased by 2.6 per cent in the electricity production and distribution industry and 2.9 per cent in the water supply and waste treatment sector. However, the index of the mining industry dropped by 8.1 per cent year on year.

The GSO reported that due to the complicated development of COVID-19, the supply chain of raw materials for production has been interrupted, thereby seriously affecting the domestic industrial production.

Some industries saw a strong decrease in IIP during the first five months, including support services for mining (36.5 per cent); repair, maintenance and installation of machinery and equipment (16.4 per cent); motor vehicle production (16.3 per cent); auto and motorcycle production (15.6 per cent); and beverage production (14.6 per cent).

Meanwhile, some other industries gained IIP growth in the first five months compared to the same period of last year. They included the manufacture of medicines, pharmaceutical chemicals and medicinal materials (25.9 per cent); production of coke and refined petroleum products (12.9 per cent); pulp and paper products (9.3 per cent); and production of chemical products (9.1 per cent). — VNS