Big industry output posts meagre rise

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics announced on Friday that the Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector experienced a meager 0.67 percent growth in August, indicating a slowdown in the industrial sector. The Quantum Index of Manufacturing was 113.19 in August, up from 112.45 in the same month last year. However, production declined 4.96 percent month-on-month from July, according to the bureau.

Year-on-year, the LSM grew modestly by 1.85 percent in the first two months of 2026-27. Industrial activity rebounded 3.03 percent in July after a sharp contraction of 3.48 percent in June. The tobacco industry contributed 0.37 percentage points, wearing apparel added 2.85 percent, petroleum products contributed 1.17 percent, cement provided 0.07 percent, electrical equipment added 0.13 percent, automobiles and other transport equipment contributed 1.20 and 0.27 percent respectively, and furniture contributed 0.43 percent.

Despite this recovery, the resurgence was uneven, as food, beverages, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and iron & steel sectors dragged down LSM growth by a combined 1.20 percentage points. The textile sector, which is a major industrial activity and export base, saw a negative growth of 2.98 percent on a year-on-year basis. This suggests that while industrial production rebounded as a whole in July, momentum remained fragile and concentrated in a few key industries.

The food group declined 8.86 percent, wheat and rice milling fell 3.38 percent, and cooking oil production decreased 20.46 percent. However, tea blended posted a negative growth of 2.84 percent. The overall textile sector recorded a negative growth of 2.98 percent on a year-on-year basis. Cotton yarn increased by 2.09 percent, while cotton cloth fell 0.03 percent.

Garment exports grew by 16.69 percent. Petroleum products, including coke and petroleum products, surged 15.48 percent during the same period. Most other petroleum products also experienced positive production growth.

Despite these positive indicators, the pharmaceutical sector declined by 14.57 percent, and fertiliser production fell by 7.55 percent. Iron and steel production decreased by 11.48 percent in 2MFY27. The production of rubber products surged by 2.50 percent, while non-metallic minerals increased by 0.20 percent, and electrical equipment grew by 4.99 percent.