Malta’s industrial output hits 10-year high

Malta’s industrial production is on the upswing, with strong growth registered among several sectors of the economy, especially in manufacturing.

The index of industrial production (IIP) is a business cycle indicator which provides an early measure of change in the volume of industrial output produced by domestic businesses in the manufacturing, energy, and quarrying sectors in Malta.

In March 2023, the IIP grew by 12.5 per cent year-on-year, or 13.9 per cent when excluding energy.

The largest upward trend was registered in the production of wood, paper products and printing (38.5 per cent), followed by the production of chemical and pharmaceutical products (28 per cent).

However, a decline was registered in the production of rubber, plastic, and other metallic mineral products (11 per cent) and in the production of food products and beverages (0.9 per cent).

In March, the production of consumer goods and capital goods increased by 27.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. Moreover, the production of energy increased by 2.7 per cent.

When adjusting for seasonable effects, production for March stood at 115.2 index points (100 = 2015), an increase of 0.4 over the previous month, making it the best month of production since January 2013.