Sales index of processing-manufacturing up 3.1%

The sales index of the processing and manufacturing sector in December 2023 rose 3.1% month-on-month and 5.1% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

However, the ministry said, the index expanded by only 1.8% last year, lower than the 7.1% increase recorded in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the sector’s added value in the year grew 3.62%, contributing 0.93% of the entire economy’s added value, and its inventories reached 87.5% as compared with the 78.1% in 2022.

The figures demonstrated that the sector was facing difficulties, the ministry said, noting that its added value grew at the lowest rate in the 2011-2023 period, thus contributing not much to the national economic growth.