Vietnam’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) slowed during the first seven months of the year, with an increase of only 8.8 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) last Thursday.

Production lowered due to a slight 1.7 percent growth rate by the mining industry, while manufacturing and power-gas-water sector hit growth rates of 11.9 percent and 10 percent respectively. Poor performance was partly due to the slow consumption power experienced in the textiles, beverage, footwear, cement, fruit and vegetable processing industries, GSO reported.

However, some industrial sectors would hit high growth, including sugar with 44 percent, ceramic and porcelain with 35.7 percent, fiber and cloth with 18.2 percent, steel with 14.3 percent and automobile production with 14.2 percent, the report said. An increase in global commodity prices on the back of rising oil prices was expected to seriously impact local manufacturing and production sectors in the next several months, said the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.