AC, soft drink production soars

Call it the summer impact, the production of room air conditioners (ACs) and cold drinks rose significantly in May.

While production of room air conditioners rose 30 per cent, compared with the corresponding period last year, that of aerated water and soft drinks increased 25.1 per cent, official data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) showed on Thursday.

The consumer goods segment, particularly durables, was one of the few categories that boosted the index, which fell in March and April. In the consumer goods category, production of telecom instruments, including mobile handsets, recorded growth of 22.8 per cent in May, compared to the year-ago period.

While production of another consumer item, colour television sets, recorded a 25.9 per cent decline, that of an important input for these — colour TV picture tubes — fell a whopping 87.6 per cent.

Items that recorded significant growth in production include carbon steel (23.5 per cent), plastic machinery, including moulding machinery (49.6 per cent), aluminium conductors (58.1 per cent), cold rolled sheets (30.1 per cent), steel structures (28.5 per cent), boilers (28.8 per cent) and purified terephthalic acid (23.3 per cent).

Important items that saw contraction in output include rubber insulated cables (66.6 per cent), gems and jewellery (23.4 per cent), sugar (49.8 per cent), vitamins (62.2 per cent), furnace oil (30.6 per cent), diammonium phosphate (46.9 per cent), edible hydrogenated oil (42.7 per cent), complex grade fertilisers (46.7 per cent) and textile machinery (30.5 per cent).

In terms of industries, 12 of the 22 manufacturing industry groups recorded growth in production. The radio, television, communication equipment and apparatus industry grew the most (16.4 per cent), followed by machinery and equipment (13.7 per cent) and fabricated metal products (12.6 per cent). Production of electric machinery and apparatus contracted 28.6 per cent, followed by furniture (14.9 per cent) and apparel, dressing and dyeing of fur (6.8 per cent).