The Hindu Business Line : Consumer goods drag industrial growth to 6.4% in Sept

Latest official data confirms that the consumer goods segment in the Indian economy continues to be on the decline along with the manufacturing sector as a whole where the growth rate halved during September this year, compared with September 2006.

Figures from the Central Statistical Organisation released on Monday show that the consumer goods segment as a whole recorded a decline (negative growth) of 0.6 per cent in September 2007 against a positive growth of 12.1 per cent in the same month previous year. The sub-section consumer durables similarly posted a negative growth of 7.6 per cent against 11.8 per cent in September 2006 while consumer non-durables production was up just about 2.2 per cent against 12.2 per cent in the comparable month last year.

Views differ

However, the consumer goods industry has a different view point. “The very basis of computing the data is wrong since it takes into consideration only the obsolete product categories such as VCRs and curve TVs, and do not take into consideration newer categories such as DVD players and MP3 players that have high volume generation. Also at times the Government is not able to get all the production data from each of the companies,” Mr Suresh Khanna, General Secretary, Consumer Electronic and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), said.

With the manufacturing segment posting a growth of 6.6 per cent in September 2007, down sharply from 12.7 per cent in September 2006, and electricity sector recording only 4.5 per cent growth against 11.3 per cent in September 2006, the overall index of industrial production (IIP) was up 6.4 per cent against 12 per cent in September 2006. Only the mining sector showed some upturn at 6 per cent against 4.3 per cent in September last year.

With the trend being similar for the first half of the current fiscal, the April-September 2007 IIP recorded a growth of 9.2 per cent, down against 11.1 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

The FICCI President, Mr Habil Khorakiwala, said that numbers pointed to the need for a revision of policy framework for the manufacturing sector including downward revision of interest rates.