Industrial output falls 4.96% in August; businessmen urge relief
Business leaders say high energy costs, heavy taxes and transport disruptions are holding back factories, while iron, steel and fertiliser output fell sharply in August.
Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) output fell 4.96% month-on-month in August, according to provisional Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
Compared with August last year, LSM output rose 0.67%, and July-August growth stood at 1.85%.
Iron and steel output fell 11.56% year-on-year in August, and fertiliser output contracted 9%.
The automobile sector grew 11.66% year-on-year in August.
Businessmen blamed energy tariffs, expensive financing, heavy taxes and transport disruptions, and called for policy consistency.