XN000022-1985-11-19 — Page 13

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 198:

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SECOND QUARTER INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX RELEASED

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THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1985, AT 124.6, WAS 5.9 POINTS OR 4.5 PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT IN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1984, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER, THE INDEX SHOWED A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE OF 15.1 POINTS OR 13.8 PER CENT. THIS INCHCAS WAS MAINLY DUE TO SEASONAL FACTOR, AS THE FIRST QUARTER HAD FEWEK WORKING DAYS BECAUSE OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR.

INDUSTRIES WITH SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN PRODUCTION OVER THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1984 INCLUDED TOBACCO (+65.0 PER CENT), CHEMICAL → AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS (+32.3 PER CENT), NON-ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT (+24.4 PER CENT), AND NON-METALLIC MINERAL PRODUCTS (+14.4 PER CENT).

HOWEVER, SEVERAL INDUSTRIES REPORTED SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN PRODUCTION OVER THE SAME PERIOD. THESE INCLUDED WEARING APPAREL (-14.9 PER CENT) AND BASIC METALS (-10.0 PER CENT). THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY ALSO SHOWED A DROP IN PRODUCTION OF 9.3 PER CENT FROM THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

THE RE-INTRODUCTION OF DUTY ON NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND THE INCREASE IN DUTY ON BEER IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR HAD CAUSED SOME DECLINE IN THE SALES, AND IN THE LOCAL PRODUCTION OF THESE COMMODITIES.

MOST INDUSTRIES RECORDED INCREASE IN PRODUCTION IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1985 OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN RUBBER PRODUCTS (+44.7 PER CENT), BEVERAGE (+39.8 PER CENT), TEXTILES (+39.2 PER CENT), LEATHER PRODUCTS AND FOOTWEAR (+38.8 PER CENT), FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS (+29.8 PER CENT), BASIC METALS (+27.7 PER CENT) AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS (+25.2 PER CENT).

THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY RECORDED A DECLINE OF 5.6 PER CENT IN PRODUCTION VOLUME COMPARED WITH THE PEAK IN THE PRECEDING QUARTER. WOOD AND CORK PRODUCTS SHOWED A DECLINE OF 5.2 PER CENT IN PRODUCTION VOLUME OVEP THIS PERIOD.

IN RELEASING THESE FIGURES, A DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED THAT THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IS PRIMARILY INTENDED TO REFLECT THE LEVELS AND TRENDS OF INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT IN REAL TERMS. IN OTHER WORDS. THE VOLUME OF PRODUCTION IS MEASURED AFTER REMOVING THE EFFECTS OF PRICE CHANGES.

TWO TABLES ON THE QUARTERLY INDEXES OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTI FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1985 WILL BE SENT BY FACSIMILE NETWORK AND BOXED SEPARATELY. ONE IS A SUMMARY TABLE FOR BROAD INDUSTP” GROUPS, WHILE THE OTHER GIVES MORE DETAILED INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN.

/MORE DETAILED