Engineering Post Report
Country’s industrial sector was projected to grow by somewhat 5.9 percent as large scale manufacturing (LSM) envisaged quite appreciable growth of 7.4 percent, small and household manufacturing 8.3 percent, slaughtering 3 percent, mining and quarrying 3 percent, construction 4 percent and electricity and gas distribution 3.5 percent.
During the last financial year 2022-23, as figures were now becoming available, the flood induced supply shock severely affected industry and services sectors besides damaging critical transportation infrastructure.
The industrial sector as such also faced pressures as important restrictions made it rather difficult to import essentially required raw materials, intermediate goods and machinery. Resultantly, many factories were either closed temporarily or operated below capacity.
Moreover, increase in energy prices, higher cost of imported input due to currency depreciation, increased cost of working capital due to substantial increase in the .interest rates and political as well as policy uncertainties also adversely affected the industrial sector. Energy prices were also increased due to the reversal of unsustainable subsidies as part of the stabilization programme of the federal government.
Large scale manufacturing (LSM) which generally accounts for about 50 percent of the industrial sector somehow acted as a drag on the overall growth of the industrial sector with a contraction of as much as 8 percent during the period under report as compared to the growth of 10.6 percent.
