Algeria industries record mixed performance
Algeria National Office of Statistics said that the country’s industrial production increased by 0.8% in 2016 quarter four from 0.6% the same quarter a year ago. Statistics showed that the average rate of 1.3% for 2016 is slightly lower than the average 2015 rate of 1.8%.
Wood and wood products showed impressive growth in 2016, amounting to 32.4%. In 2016Q4 the sector increased to 42.6 from 30.6% in 2016Q3. Other industries that performed well in 2016, include chemicals, rubber & plastics and glass, ceramics & building materials with growth figures of 5.7% and 5.2%, respectively.
Energy also impressed from its previous performance with a growth figure of 5.8% in 2016Q4, a big jump from a 1.5% decline recoded in 2016Q3. The annual average for energy for 2016 was recorded at 2.4%, however this is lower than the 2015 figure of 6.98% of 2015.
Hydrocarbons recovered slightly from -3.1 in 2015 to 0.3 in 2016, mainly due to an increase in production of oil & gas production.
Figures from the report showed that building materials continue their upward trend with growth of 3.3% in the quarter under review, bringing the average in 2016 to 5.2% from 3.8% average in 2015.
Agro-food industries also showed high growth of 10.7% in 2016Q4 from 7.5% 2016Q3. The textiles industry performed better in 2016Q4 with an increase of 3.1% after a decline of 11.2 % in 2016Q3.
Mechanical & electrical engineering, showed an impressive growth in the first quarter of 2016Q1, but decreased in all three remaining quarters of 2016 to -10.4% in 2016Q4, bring the 2016 total down to -4.2%.
Several activities contributed to this result, notably the manufacture of goods of mechanical equipment, which showed a decrease four quarters in a row and iron and steel and transformation of pig iron and steel which significantly decreased in the third quarter of 2016.
Mining and quarrying declined to -12.5%, from 0.6% in 2016Q3 and 15.0 % the same quarter a year ago. This brings the annual average to -3.1 in 2016 from 3.7% in 2015. Both clay & sand stone and iron ore recorded negative growth. The overall leather & footwear industry also declined again in 2016 to -7.4 from -8.9 in 2015.
