ISLAMABAD: Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) continued to recover in December for the second consecutive month, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

LSM posted a paltry growth of 3.43 per cent in December on a year-on-year basis. In November, the growth in LSM was recorded at 1.59pc. The main contributors to positive growth are food, beverages, wearing apparel, leather products, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

The LSM turned positive in August 2023 after 14 months of contraction and extended the growth in September as well.

However, the big industry output shrank 4.08pc in October on a year-on-year basis.

The removal of import restrictions, clearance of outstanding letters of credit and improved dollar liquidity following improvement in the SBP forex reserves are considered to help in a pick-up in economic activity.

The LSM remained positive in December as 12 out of 22 sectors picked up positive growth including food (6.77pc), beverages (9.77pc), wearing apparel (20.77 pc), leather products (7.18pc), wood products (28.40pc), petroleum products (17.85pc), chemicals (2.62pc), fertilizer (4.65pc), pharmaceuticals (20.12pc), machinery and equipment (148.41pc), other manufacturing (28.31pc).

The LSM shrank 0.39pc in the first half of the current fiscal year.

In the textile and clothing sector, positive growth was observed in yarn 0.61pc and cloth 0.65pc in December 2023 from a year ago. However, a massive growth of 20.77pc was recorded in the garment sector in December from a year ago.

In the food group, wheat and rice production posted a partial growth of 0.97pc in December over the last year. The production of cooking oil rose 21.01pc while vegetable ghee saw a decline of 5.76pc during the month.

Petroleum products posted a growth of 17.85pc in December, mainly because of an increase in the production of petrol (17.86pc) and high-speed diesel (14.39pc), LPG (9.06pc) and kerosene (1.65pc). And almost all other petroleum products recorded a paltry growth during the month under review.

In December, there was a slight increase in iron and steel production, which experienced an increase of 0.38pc. However, electrical equipment declined by 1.91pc.

The production of fertilisers experienced a surge of 4.65pc, while the production of rubber items witnessed a negative growth of 0.73pc. The production of pharmaceutical products experienced a significant surge, with an impressive increase of 20.12pc.

The auto sector also saw a 52.95pc slump in December 2023 as the production of almost all kinds of vehicles went down.

Sales of petroleum products slumped by 15pc during July-December FY24 to 7.68m tonnes against 9.03m tonnes in the same period last year. In December 2023, oil sales recorded at 1.24m tonnes, down 7pc.

Cement despatches increased 4.63pc in December. Total cement sales were 4.06m tonnes compared to 3.881m tonnes in the same month last year. During 1HFY24, total cement sales were 23.876m tonnes, up 9.7pc from 21.764m tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2024