Index of manufacturing up 2.7% in May: CAPMAS

CAIRO – 19 July 2017: The index of manufacturing went up 2.7 percent to 119.03 in May 2017 compared to 115.86 during April 2017, state statistics body (CAPMAS) said Wednesday.

The report attributed the decrease to the rise in production of some industrial activities, mainly the manufacture of base metals and of rubber and plastic products.

The total index for manufacture of basic metals, Iron and steel, grew 49.8 percent month-on-month to 111.7 in May from 74.55, due to the stability of the power supply and according to the orders of supply and the completion of maintenance work in some sources.

Moreover, the total index of manufacture of rubber and plastics products also rose 11.2 percent to 104, compared to 93.85 in April 2017. The growth was due to increased production lines of some plastics industries, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated.

As for the manufacture of food products, the index reached 118.97 in May, compared to 131.99, with a decrease of 9.9 percent, due to lower quantities of wheat for mills and near the end of seasonal sugar industry.

The index for manufacture of wearing apparel saw a 19.4 percent fall In May to reach 137.86, down from 171.6 in April 2017.

The decrease was due to a period of stability after the implementation of garments supply orders for Eid and an export period for foreign markets, the report read.