Following the more than 11 percent increase in the month of June, in July 20104 the industrial sector expanded by 12.3 percent year-on-year. Minister of State for Economic Regulation Béla Glattfelder, commenting on the latest data published by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), said that this growth figure is the best in three years. Rebounding industrial output has been increasingly contributing to economic growth and this development is in line with the Government’s aim to elevate the industrial output-to-GDP ratio to the highest level within Europe, he added.

In the initial seven months of the year, output was up by 9.8 percent year-on-year, while this indicator was 1.6 percent higher in comparison to the previous month. The volume of industrial output has been on the rise for the eleventh consecutive month and this performance has been fuelling not only exports but the creation of new jobs and the implementation of new investment projects.

The fact that output growth was registered in twelve out of the altogether thirteen industrial sub sectors is an indicator of the sound structure of this expansion. Output of vehicle manufacturing skyrocketed with an increase of some 32 percent, while that of food, beverages and tobacco products soared by 6.2 percent. The output volume of electronic consumer goods surged more than 34 percent. Growth was also balanced from a regional aspect, as output volume was up in each region in the period January-July 2014.

The more than 17 percent year-on-year increase in the total volume of manufacturing sector orders is signalling steady future growth of the industrial sector: the volume of new export orders and new domestic orders jumped by 18.3 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively, compared to July last year. The total volume of orders was 19.2 percent higher than in July last year.

Béla Glattfelder pointed out that industrial output growth is attributable to the increase of both exports and domestic consumption, while he also mentioned factors such as the improved utilization of existing industrial production capacities and the construction of new industrial facilities among the drivers of expansion. He stressed recent data show that the Government’s active industrialization policy is bearing fruits: industrial output grew by more than 23 percent between January 2010 and July 2014. Consequently, the Government aims to maintain the solid economic performance through the bolstering of productive sectors and an active industrial policy.

(Ministry for National Economy)