Four-month industrial production hits record low due to COVID-19
Four-month industrial production hits record low due to COVID-19
Viet Nam’s index of industrial production (IIP) saw a modest increase of 1.8 per cent in the first four months of 2020, the lowest level over recent years, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). 
In April alone, the IIP slumped sharply by 13.3 per cent over the previous month and by 10.5 per cent over the same period last year. It is also the first IIP decrease in April during the 2016-20 period, the GSO said.
Last month, the processing and manufacturing sector which is responsible for a large part of domestic industrial production recorded the strongest IIP reduction of 10.5 per cent in the four-month period.
The mining sector saw IIP reduction of 10.7 per cent while the IIP of electricity production and distribution fell by 7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the IIP of the water supply and waste-sewage treatment sectors rose by 1.8 per cent year on year.
According to the GSO, the COVID-19 pandemic around the world has caused a shortage of imported raw materials for production, seriously affecting industrial production.
Among sectors recording a decline in IIP growth in January-April period were the automobile sector down 24 per cent, motorcycle production (17 per cent); beer production (24 per cent); beverage (14 per cent) and wood processing and wood products (9 per cent).
In a brighter spot, several sectors seeing positive production growth were pharmaceutical production with 26 per cent; metal ore (16.5 per cent) and electronics, computers and optical products (10 per cent).
As of April 1, the number of labourers in industrial enterprises decreased by 1.6 per cent year on year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing these firms to cut back on employees, GSO statisticians said.
The GSO has proposed the Government put forward supportive measures for enterprises that suffer significant impacts from the coronavirus pandemic, such as seeking alternative suppliers, reducing export-import tariffs and boosting domestic consumption, said its General Director Nguyen Bich Lam.
Those are the enterprises operating in the industries of manufacturing, exporting and importing industrial products, especially textiles, leather, electronics, cars, steel, and food and foodstuff processing enterprises.
To stabilise domestic production, Lam said the GSO has proposed the Government to continue managing macro-economic policies to control inflation and maintain stability in the macro-economy as well as the monetary market.
At the same time, the Government should follow issues relating to import and export, including key export products, major export markets and material imports for production, to solve problems of import and export enterprises.
