Industrial sector shows some positive movement but still too far from peak days

Sri Lanka’s industrial production was seen getting a slight lift in October from a month ago levels, indicating signs of recovery.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures the country’s manufacturing heft, recorded 86.9 index points in October—measured on a 12-month average basis—edging up from 86.7 index points in September, the latest data made available by the Census and Statistics Department showed. 
Measured on a year-on-year basis too, the index recorded an increase of 2.9 percent, to record an index value of 89.2 in October, compared to 86.6 index points in the same month last year, when the industry sector hit a nadir in the face of shortages of foreign currency and the resulting restrictions of imported materials, which are crucial to ensure smooth manufacturing operations. 
The industrial production, despite its slight improvement seen both month-on-month and on an annual basis, hasn’t surpassed the 100-index-point level in more than 18 months. 
The index finally had a reading above 100 index points was back in February last year, at the onset of the foreign exchange crisis, which precipitated into a full blown social and political crisis, bringing the entire economy into a standstill.
Parsing of the index performance across the major industries between the two periods in 2022 and 2023 showed that the food and beverage production had increased only a little by 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent, 

respectively while the manufacturing of textiles had risen by 10.3 percent but the wearing apparels had declined by 15.9 percent.
The apparel sector weakness, which began from the latter part of last year, has been a major drag on industrial activities.
The biggest lift to the index came from the production of coke and petroleum products, which spiked 661.9 percent between the 
two periods. 
Among the other major industries under the IIP, the production of rubber and plastic products segment rose by 9.4 percent, while the other non-metallic mineral products segment and chemicals and chemical products manufacturing industry contracted by 4.0 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively from the year earlier levels.