Hungarian industrial output rises 11% year-on-year in June

Hungary's industrial output was up by 11 percent year-on-year in June, and up by a calendar-adjusted 1.1 percent compared to May, according to a preliminary estimate issued by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) in Budapest on Friday.

The yr/yr growth was 6.0 percent when adjusted for working day and calendar effects. The first six months of 2015 showed a 7.3 percent climb from the same period of 2014, KSH reported.

National Economy Ministry State Secretary Bela Glattfelder told the M1 public television that the growth had primarily been in the motor vehicle industry for cars sold abroad. The production growth had created over twenty thousand jobs in the past year, he added.

Glattfelder also cited improved performance in the chemical industry and machine manufacture as contributors to the June growth. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have begun to manufacture goods, said Glattfelder.

While he termed the government target of boosting manufacture to 30 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 from the current 22-23 percent an ambitious goal, he also said it was realistic and that Hungary could soon become one of the most highly industrialized members of the European Union.