ISLAMABAD – The production of petroleum products witnessed 13.53 percentincrease during the fiscal year 2017-18 as compared to the correspondingperiod of the last year.
According to latest data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), thepetroleum products that contributed in positive growth included motorspirits, output of which grew by 18.31 percent during the period underreview while the production of jet fuel oil increased by 0.77 percent.
The production of High Speed Diesel surged by 14.72 percent, Diesel oil by28.59 percent while the output of Furnace oil witnessed growth of 9.33percent.
Similarly, the production of Jute batching oil increased by 11.02 percent,Solvent Naptha by 6.54 percent while the production of LPG increased by46.94 percent.
The petroleum products that witnessed negative growth in productionincluded kerosene oil, output of which decreased by 14.69 percent, whilethe production of lubricating oil declined by 10.74 percent.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the production of petroleum productsincreased by 18.60 percent during the month of June 2018 against theproduction of same month of last year.
It is pertinent to mention here that the overall Large Scale ManufacturingIndustries (LSMI) of the country witnessed growth of 6 percent during thefirst eleven months of the current fiscal year compared to thecorresponding period of last year.
The country’s LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 149.19points during July-May (2017-18) against 140.75 points during July-May(2016-17), showing growth of 6 per cent.
The highest growth of 3.62 percent was witnessed in the indices monitoredby Ministry of Industries, followed by 1.58 percent growth in the productsmonitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 0.80 growth in theindices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).
On year-to-year basis, the industrial growth increased by 2.76 percentduring May 2018 as compared to same month of last year, however, onmonth-to-month basis, the industrial growth decreased by 11.63 percent inMay 2018 when compared to growth of April 2018, the PBS data revealed. – APP