Algeria: Slight increase in industrial production in 2013

Industrial production in Algerian public sector recorded a slight increase in 2013 (0.8%), against 1.6 % in 2012 and (0.4%) in 2011, the National Office for Statistics (ONS) said Monday. Regarding non-hydrocarbons production, the industrial growth rate reached 2.2 %, against 5.5 % in 2012 and 2.4% in 2011, while the manufacturing industries’ rate increased by 1.8 %, after a stagnation recorded the year before, ONS stressed. This "modest" growth of industrial production in the public sector is the result of production improvement in some activities, including metal steel industries, mechanical and electrical (ISMME) industries with 5.5 %, textile industries (4 %), wood and cork (-2.1 %) and building materials (+0.3 %). Mines and quarries witnessed in 2013 an increase of nearly 6% compared to 2012 , when it was characterized by a decrease of 5.6% compared to 2011. Two activities have contributed to the improvement of mining and quarrying. The energy sector, meanwhile, continued its upward trend with a growth rate of 2.1%. Moreover, this rate is far below that of 2012 (12 %).