Moldovan industry records 5.9-per cent growth in last July

Chisinau, 19 September /MOLDPRES/ - The industry, a sector accounting for over 15 per cent of the Moldovan economy, registered a 5.9-per cent growth of output in last July against the same period of the year before. The increase was backed by growths of the processing industry and of the production and supply of electric and thermal energy, gas, warm water, according to data made public by the National Statistics Bureau (BNS) today.    

Official statistics also shows that, in July 2019, the production in the processing industry grew by 6.6 per cent and the production and supply of electric and thermal energy, gas, warm water and conditioned air – by four per cent. At the same time, BNS also registered a 9.7-per cent decrease in the extractive industry.    

In the first seven months of 2019, the industrial output was by 1.9-per cent bigger against the same period of the previous year, as a result of a 8.7-per cent increase of the production in the extractive industry, a two-per cent growth in the processing industry and a 0.8-per cent increase in the production and provision of electric and thermal energy, gas, warm water and conditioned air.

The Economics and Infrastructure Ministry forecasts for 2019 a four-per cent growth in industry and a bit higher increase paces are expected in the next years – between 4.2 and 4.5 per cent. Just as in the last two years, the growth of the industrial sector will be backed by the automotive industry branch, due to the extension of foreign investors’ work in Free Economic Zones. At the same time, the positive developments expected from the agricultural sector, increase in the domestic demand for native goods, as well as the turning to good account of opportunities provided by international economic cooperation agreements will represent the factors which will stipulate the sector’s development, the Economics Ministry said. On the other hand, “the risk of a decrease in the external demand can negatively influence the evolution of the industrial sector.”        

In the first half of 2019, the industry contributed 15.3 per cent to the formation of Moldova’s Gross Domestic Product.