Pakistan’s Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) output decreased by 4.4% in the first seven months of the 2022-23 fiscal year, compared to the same period last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The provisional Quantum Index numbers (QIM) showed that the LSMI output decreased by 7.9% in January 2023, compared to January 2022, but increased by 1.48% compared to December 2022. The main contributors towards the overall growth of 4.40% were garments (3.81%), while the sectors showing a decline included automobiles (-34.85%), other transport equipment (-38.49%), and pharmaceuticals (-21.92%).
In terms of petroleum products, high-speed diesel witnessed a 10.94% negative growth, while furnace oil saw a 7.62% negative growth in output. However, jet fuel oil witnessed a growth of 17.70%, and kerosene oil witnessed a 32.48% negative growth. Cement production also witnessed a negative growth of 13.06% during the period.
Despite this decline, some sectors saw growth, such as wearing apparel (44.47%), furniture (73.80%), and other manufacturing (football) (48.26%). The LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was estimated at 115.45 for July-January 2022-23 and 126.85 for January 2023.
