Vietnam's industrial production up 2.7 pct in 10 months

Vietnam's national index of industrial production advanced 2.7 percent year on year between January and October, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Tuesday.

The processing and manufacturing sector, main driver of the rise, went up 4.2 percent. Electricity production and distribution sector expanded 3.2 percent, and water supply and waste management was up 4.1 percent, according to the office.

Given that the COVID-19 outbreak remains under control, sectors of the Vietnamese economy are entering a period of new normalcy, with industrial production continuing to recover in October, especially the processing and manufacturing sector, the office noted.

In the 10-month period, production of refined sugar witnessed the largest output reduction year on year at 22.3 percent, followed by liquefied petroleum gas (down 15.2 percent), crude oil (down 14.1 percent), beer (down 13.1 percent) and automobiles (down 9.2 percent).

Meanwhile, outputs of television sets were up 25.3 percent, Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium fertilizers up 10.5 percent and monosodium glutamate up 9.1 percent.

As of Oct. 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector declined by 2 percent on-year. Employment in the processing and manufacturing businesses dropped 2.1 percent, while that of mining ones went down 1.7 percent, said the office.