Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) Growth in the manufacturing sector is expected to pick up in the first quarter of 2009-10 on the back of increasing demand in some segments, said an industry lobby survey.
The manufacturing survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said six out of the 12 sectors it covered will report higher growth rate in the April-June quarter over the year-ago period, pushing the entire manufacturing sector to positive growth.

The key growth drivers are textiles, metals and products, machinery, cement, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and miscellaneous sectors.

However, sectors like auto-parts and chemicals may continue to witness fall.

The survey, carried out in February to analyse the impact of the fiscal and monetary stimulus packages announced respectively by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, said the downslide will continue in the current quarter.

“Only a few manufacturing sectors like FMCG and cement could see a positive growth in January-March, which would not be adequate to push up the growth of the whole manufacturing sector,” the report said.

Majority of the respondents felt that the real impact of the stimulus packages on the manufacturing sector would be seen from the April-June quarter.

Although the RBI’s successive rate cuts have brought down the cost of borrowing, credit availability still remains an issue of great concern, FICCI said.

It added that the export scenario remained bleak for both quarters despite the stimulus measures.

“A large number of sectors like textiles, leather, chemicals, auto components, tyre, electronic and electrical items are likely to see a fall in their exports in January-March and April-June quarters,” the survey said.

“Only a few sectors like FMCG, cement and machinery expect to see some growth in their exports,” it added.

–Indo-Asian News service

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